Tempted To Love
by XxDonMelloxX
Summary: Love is in the air as Sesshoumaru and Ayame find themselves attracted to eachother. Romance.
1. Nightfall

"Tempted To Love"

Sesshoumaru x Ayame

Disclaimer: I do not own the anime/manga Inuyasha or the characters in this story.

But they're hot, aren't they?

Last chance warning: There will be Lemon

It was a clear, mild day in the feudal Japan era. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and the only other noise audible to the great Inu Taiyoukai Sesshoumaru was the splashing from Rin in the cool pond. He himself was sitting beneath the shade of a giant oak, watching her play in the water, tormenting his faithful servant Jaken with unwanted splashes. He was slightly amused by all this, but his face didn't show a single sign of that. His stoic nature was hard to crack. So far as he could remember, Rin might have made him smile, at least once... but he couldn't really recall.

His golden hues turned upward, checking the position of the sun in the sky. Late afternoon. It would be growing dark soon enough. With a sigh he pulled himself to stand, checking on his napping double-headed dragon. Ah-Un's eyes opened a bit lazily as Sesshoumaru gently pet one of its heads. As Ah-Un continued to wake himself, Sesshoumaru turned to glance over his shoulder. "Rin," was all he said. The young human girl immediately stopped splashing and laughing in the pond and turned her attention to him. "Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama?" She asked in a simply adorable voice. Sesshoumaru thought of smiling each time she spoke.

"Come, Rin. It's time to go." He turned back to Ah-Un as Rin yelped out some sort of confirmation to his order and scrambled out of the pond, trampling Jaken, who was nearly half her size. She hurried to the Dog Demon Lord's side, not paying attention to Jaken at all. Sesshoumaru lifted her wet body in her wet kimono and placed her in Ah-Un's saddle. Making sure she was situated well in the saddle, they began to move out, leaving Jaken for the moment. He would catch up soon, anyway. He always did. The main concern Sesshoumaru had at the moment was finding a cave or shelter for the night. Nights were still a little chilly. He wanted Rin to be warm. She was like a daughter to him. A daughter without a mother... not that it was a concern of his. He wasn't weak like his half-demon brother, falling for human women left and right. When he married - _if_ he ever decided to do such a thing - it would be a full youkai - a demon, like himself.

Just as the sun was beginning to set, he found the perfect cave. As Rin and Ah-Un settled in, he left to gather firewood and food, stepping on a rushing Jaken on his way out.

The white wolf princess yawned, stretching as she finally awoke. The sun was setting. About time. She wasn't always nocturnal, but it was this month's full moon. She'd be able to see even better than usual, and besides... she wanted to see if, just maybe... a rainbow?

She knew moon's rainbows were rare. She knew because she'd looked for one nearly every single night since the time she'd seen it as a little girl with her supposed fiancee, Kouga. She sighed, hopping down from the tree branch she'd been sleeping in. Kouga... that man didn't know _what_ he wanted. "Chasing after silly human girls," she grumbled to herself, tugging her hide cape around her arms for extra warmth as she walked. Her keen ears were picking up what seemed like rushing water in the distance. A waterfall would be quite an ideal spot to go moon watching. She kicked up her heels and dashed until she found the clearing. Perfect. ...A little too perfect.

It reminded her so much of Kouga's den, only that there was no cave she could see near the waterfall. But the scent of the cool water was refreshing. She looked up to the moon. No... not yet. No rainbow. With another sigh, she pulled herself up to sit on a boulder and began to howl at the moon, as though she were crying her heart out. A pack answered her calls in the distance. Far distance. She was relieved for the time of serenity, but at the same time... she felt so... alone. She continued to howl into the night, the sounds of the distant pack only growing farther and farther away.


	2. Campfire

Sesshoumaru had returned to the cave twice since nightfall. Jaken had been keeping the fire in the cave well lit with his Hyoujintai staff, and Rin was now dry and there was food roasting. He'd brought back food for Ah-Un as well, and Rin would share with Jaken. Now it was his turn.

He scanned the area. It would be a little more difficult to find something now that he'd already scared everything off with his first two kills. But he would manage. He'd wandered far from the cave by now, and the scent of water was beginning to catch his nose. Thinking perhaps he might find a boar drinking or some such thing, he headed toward the scent. After a moment, though, he stopped. A lone wolf was howling by the waterfall. He was by no means an expert on wolf speech, but the thing sounded... almost sad.

He sighed. Deciding to amuse himself a bit, he continued to head toward the waterfall. He could see its white fur before he even reached the clearing. He didn't particularly mean to sneak up on it, just watch it for a moment or so. Now closer, he could make out auburn pigtails and could at least label the wolf female. He took another step toward the clearing, and she finally sensed him.

Everything seemed to stand still for a moment as she quickly turned and looked right into his eyes, and he stared right back into hers. He knew he'd startled her, and she was on full alert to defend herself. He stared a moment longer before turning and disappearing again. He didn't really have time to sit and talk with some wolf pup. He was hungry, and had to hurry to find food and return to the cave.

Ayame sat perched on the rock, a bit confused. Okay... so some dog demon had randomly decided to show himself for no reason? Interesting... _Whatever,_ she thought to herself, and decided to do a little hunting. She was a bit hungry, and now she had competition in the woods, if the dog was hunting as well. She hurried off the boulder, heading in a direction she was fairly certain he hadn't gone. His scent was a wisp in the air as she dashed along.

Finally, she spotted her prey. A wild boar munching on a few blades of grass. _His last few,_ she smirked, and lunged. She nearly bonked heads with some jerk who'd decided to go for the same prey! Frowning, she looked up to discover the same dog demon who'd popped in on her out of nowhere. Just as she'd thought! Hunting! They each paused, surprised. Ayame was ready to slit the boar's throat with her claws... and it seemed Sesshoumaru'd had the same idea. With the both of them momentarily stunned, the boar attempted a getaway. Ayame blinked in surprise, but Sesshoumaru sprang into action, killing the boar and lifting it by its hind legs. He turned back to Ayame, who was still frozen in place. Knowing he wasn't going to eat all of it himself and that there probably wouldn't be any other food around for a good distance, he nodded for her to follow him.

Ayame blinked. He was offering to share? Well, she couldn't exactly pass that up. If he hadn't offered, she'd be stuck trying to catch fish all night... something that tended to fare a bit better in the daylight. At least with the full moon out, she could see well enough to gather pinecones and kindling for a cooking fire as Sesshoumaru led the way to a clearing. They gathered stones to place around the fire and helped eachother build it up enough to cook the boar. Ayame peeked over at him. In the whole hour or so that they'd seen one another, they hadn't spoken a single word, not once! As the fire reached a steady burn and the boar began to roast, she looked across the way to the dog demon's face. His golden hues seemed to be lost in the flames. Taking a deep breath, she delicately stood and walked around the fire, sitting beside him.

Sesshoumaru blinked, a bit surprised as the wolf princess decided to move to sit beside him rather than keep her distance. Yes, he knew who she was. But she didn't seem to know who he was. It mattered not to him. He poked at the fire a bit with a stick, the flames dancing up to lick at the boar's skin, cooking it. Ayame sat, but his eyes never left the boar. Maybe she was just lonely, anyway. That was what he'd picked up by her howling, after all. She cleared her throat a little and he finally turned his head to her. "Yes? You wish to speak?"

Ayame blushed a little. It was a new situation for her completely, to be randomly camping with someone she'd never met. She looked over at him and smiled. "Well, it's just, here we've been camping out, and neither of us has said a word yet. So, I thought I should at least introduce myself. I'm Ayame." She nodded, offering her hand for a shake. Her smile faded slowly when the other didn't return the gesture. Instead he sat for a moment, causing an uneasy silence. She looked to the ground, embarrassed. His silence made her feel like she'd done something wrong and made a fool of herself. As she was about to look away, he finally spoke.

"This one is called Sesshoumaru." Was all he said, and one of his eyebrows twitched in surprise as Ayame's eyes grew wide. She tilted her head to one side, trying to get a better look at his face. "Woah.. you mean, THE Sesshoumaru?! Lord Sesshoumaru?!" She gaped. Sure, she was royalty, but the great Sesshoumaru was someone she'd heard a lot about. She was certain not half as many people had heard of her.

Sesshoumaru sighed. So she had heard of him after all. "The only, princess." He confirmed, letting her know that he'd heard of her as well, which startled her further.

"You... you know who _I_ am?!" She blinked widely. She was.. well, flattered, actually. She supposed it might be normal for those of a manner of high status to know of others in high status, but for someone as well known as Sesshoumaru to have heard of her? ...Cool.

Sesshoumaru nodded and poked at the fire again, turning the boar over to let the other side finish cooking. It would be done soon. Then he could eat and return to the cave. Hopefully Jaken had gotten Rin to fall asleep by now. It was getting late. He sighed, blinking a few times. Ayame was still watching him. Slightly annoyed, he turned to look at her, causing her to jump a little as their eyes met. "Why are you watching me so closely?" He asked, trying to read her expression.

Ayame cast him a weak smile. "I'm sorry.. I was just wondering why you never seem to smile." She pouted a little, her brows furrowing. She kind of looked concerned. Sesshoumaru sighed. He'd been asked that by a few people, actually. The truth was, he wasn't really certain. It just wasn't something that came to him. He wasn't even sure he knew how to move the muscles in his face to form a smile. He shrugged a shoulder at her. "This Sesshoumaru does not smile." He chose for a response, and looked to her from the corner of his eyes. She didn't seem satisfied with that answer.

"I can see that. But why not? It's just a little friendly gesture, and it makes people feel comfortable. A smile can do a lot, you know." She paused, the realization of all the different things a simple smile could really inflict on a person coming to her and making her really think about it. "Gee.. I never actually realized the full extent of the power of a smile.. it can make someone comfortable, you can scare someone, you can make someone nervous or intimidated or excited or relieved-"

"The food is ready, if you're hungry." He interrupted her, suddenly reminded of why he wasn't ever particularly fond of females and why Rin would probably never have a "mother." He handed her a leg of the boar and watched as she took it almost sheepishly. "Thanks.. and I'm sorry, I didn't mean to talk so much like that." She apologized, lowering her head and turning to face the fire as she began to eat. Sesshoumaru sighed, watching her a moment. At least she seemed to know her place. He took a leg for himself and began to eat as well.


	3. Morning

It was very late by the time Sesshoumaru returned to the cave. Ayame had talked quite a bit, and he'd actually participated in some of the conversation with her. It hadn't been too terrible. But now he was tired. He walked past Ah-Un and the sleeping Rin and Jaken and settled on his own side of the cave, his tail fluffed up as a sort of pillow for himself. He sighed heavilly, glancing out of the cave's entrance. The stars were indeed quite lovely that night, as Ayame had pointed out. He hadn't bothered to look then, but looking now he had to agree. He hadn't ever really taken the time to stop and think of that. He usually looked beyond the stars, wondering what was out there past the great sky. He yawned and finally fell asleep.

Ayame stretched as she found the branch that was to be her bed that night. She didn't know why she liked sleeping in trees... she knew it was probably strange behavior for a wolf to sleep in a tree, but it was pretty comfortable for her! She yawned, laying on the large branch as her tail wagged gently, hanging over its edge. She looked up to the pale moon and stars and thought back on the short time she'd spent with Sesshoumaru. Well.. it had seemed short, but really it had been a few hours. He wasn't so bad once he actually got to talking. Especially for a dog. She smirked, shaking her head. What a person... he never smiled, never really seemed to consider the beauty of the stars... she wondered if he ever took time to stop and smell the flowers or anything like that. From what he'd told her, his human pup certainly did. Maybe he felt she was living it for him or some strange thing like that, but still...

She turned on her side, a sigh escaping her. She knew it shouldn't trouble her so much that he never seemed to have any kind of fun, but she couldn't help thinking about it. It was wonderful that Rin was enjoying nature and having a wonderful time, but she wished Sesshoumaru could enjoy it as well. And show that he was. She paused, her jade hues widening as she realized what she'd just thought. "Alright.. definitely time to stop thinking of this and get some sleep!" She grumbled, and turned over once more before finally drifting to sleep.

Sesshoumaru sighed heavilly, his golden hues fluttering open as bright rays of sunshine spilled into the cave over the tops of the trees. He bet Ayame would have thought that scene to be beautiful as well. He had to admit, it was pretty. He blinked to himself, wondering why he'd thought of that silly wolf princess first thing in the morning. That was a bit unusual to him. He lay there thinking of it a moment before shaking it off, rising. Rin would awaken soon, and need some sort of morning meal. He made his way to the cave's entrance and paused, looking back to estimate a number of fish he would need to catch to feed everyone. Two for Rin, two for himself and Jaken, and... maybe four for each of Ah-Un's heads. Though they shared the stomach, they both ate. He was a dragon, after all.

With the numbers in his head, he turned to leave again when a small muffled voice made him stop. "Sesshoumaru-sama?" Came the sleepy voice of Rin. He turned and took a few steps back into the cave so he could listen to her without waking the others. "Yes, Rin?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama, Rin tried to wait up for you but Jaken wouldn't let her. Rin didn't get to tell Sesshoumaru-sama goodnight. Rin is sorry." She blinked up at him, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Sesshoumaru sighed gently and patted her on the head. "It's alright, Rin. Next time just say goodnight anyway, and this Sesshoumaru will hear. Alright?"

Rin beamed, nodding happily. "Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama! Rin understands!" She yawned as he stood and headed to the cave's entrance again. Her eyes now wide in curiousity, she quickly got up and followed him. "Sesshoumaru-sama? Where are you going so early?" She peeked up at him, her head tilted in question. Sesshoumaru looked back down to her. "We need food for our morning meal." Rin's eyes seemed to light up. "Can... Can Rin come, Sesshoumaru-sama? Rin is wide awake now, and doesn't really want to listen to Jaken snoring..." She frowned as the two of them turned to look over their shoulders at Jaken, laying sprawled on his back and snoring loudly. Sesshoumaru rose an eyebrow in amusement and agreed to allow Rin along. If he were hunting for something other than fish, he would have made her stay. But she might even be able to assist with this task.

Sesshoumaru sighed, breathing in the morning air, damp with dew. Rin ran along ahead a few steps, picking flowers as usual. She ran back to him with wide eyes, a big orange flower in one hand extended in his direction and a few flowers in her other hand. "Sesshoumaru-sama, what's this one called??" She asked of the orange flower. "It has freckles!" She giggled as Sesshoumaru knelt down before her. "This is a Tiger lily, Rin. They come in different colors. You can recognize it by the shape." "Ooohhh," She blinked at it, as though to confirm the information with the flower itself. "Wow.. and it smells pretty too." She smiled, and tucked it away with the rest of them. "Sesshoumaru-sama... what's this one?" She asked once more, pulling a lovely purple flower from her small bouquet. "Rin likes this one, it's very pretty."

Sesshoumaru blinked at the Iris in her hand. For some reason, an image of the wolf princess flashed in his mind, startling him a bit. "...Ayame... That's an ayame, Rin. They're kind of rare around here. Where did you get it?" He asked, praying she wouldn't say something like, 'Oh, a pretty wolf lady gave it to me!' He nearly held his breath as she ran to show him. "Over here, Sesshoumaru-sama. There's a few of them. Aren't they pretty?" She beamed, picking one more. "Ohh, well if they're rare Rin will leave a whole bunch of them so everyone else can enjoy them too." She patted the Irises and meandered on to pick a few of the numerous buttercups and daisies.

Sesshoumaru sighed and continued on toward the pond. He figured it was normal to be thinking of Ayame a little, since he'd spent a good few hours with her the previous night and seeing the Irises would naturally make him think of one who had the same name, and her namesake in her hair. It was normal. And now that the ordeal was over with, he could continue normally. And catch some food. He took a deep breath, letting it out in a relaxing sigh. He knew the pond was near, but he couldn't really distinguish the scent of its water from all the dew just yet. But just then, his nose picked up on something different. Something mildly familiar...

"Ayame!" Came Rin's excited tone all of a sudden in the distance. Sesshoumaru blinked. The child was just pointing out another patch, right? But no.. it was definitely her scent in the air. With a heavy sigh, he headed toward Rin who was jumping and pointing excitedly to an Iris just barely noticeable on a tree branch. A few lockes of auburn hair spilled over the edge of the thick branch, and a white tail swayed in the light morning breeze. Ayame. She hadn't gone far. Rin looked up to Sesshoumaru and pointed again, looking from the branch to him, back to the branch and to him once again. "Sesshoumaru-sama, Rin found an Ayame! Do Ayames grow in trees too?" She tilted her head a little and looked back to the branch again.

"No, Rin. Do you see the tail and hair? It's a-" Sesshoumaru blinked, suddenly getting a flashback to how he'd found Rin. Dead, from a wolf raid. His Tenseiga had brought her back, but the memory might still be a bit heavy on her. He wasn't sure. "It's a lady. Sleeping in the tree." He opted instead. Ayame seemed harmless, but she was a wolf, after all. Though she'd seemed to quite enjoy hearing of Rin last night. As he was thinking of all this, Rin suddenly grabbed the fabric of his pant leg, pointing back to the tree. "Sesshoumaru-sama, she's gonna fall!" She exclaimed, drawing his attention to the branch. Ayame was rolling the wrong way.. and the pond was beneath her branch. Stupid wolf! Her body rolled off the edge of the branch and she awoke quickly at the sensation of falling, but it wasn't quick enough to catch herself. Sesshoumaru dashed, catching her just before she hit the water and landing on the other side of the bank with her in his arms.


	4. Connect

The frantic wolf princess blinked as she suddenly felt herself in someone's arms. She clung to the body, an arm around their neck and her other hand gripping their shirt until they finally stopped moving. She opened her eyes that had been squeezed shut. She'd almost landed in the pond!! That was enough of sleeping in branches for her! Across the pond was a little girl, jumping and cheering happily. It took her a moment to register the name the girl was whooping for. Sesshoumaru?! Slowly, she turned her head to find golden eyes peering down at her. She cleared her throat, smiling nervously. "Um.. thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama..-"

"You're welcome." He replied before she could say anything further, and set her down. She looked across the pond, but the girl had disappeared. Looking around, she saw the child was headed in their direction. Ohh, Rin. Now she remembered. Ayame smiled, her eyes wide. "Aa, Sesshoumaru-sama! This is the Rin you were telling me about! She's so cute!" She beamed, her tail wagging a bit in excitement as she clasped her hands together, watching the girl approach.

Sesshoumaru studied her carefully. She was quite excited to see the girl.. happy, even. Not like she actually knew Rin. He watched her mannerisms closely. He trusted her for the most part, but because of Rin's past he wasn't certain on how the two would interact. Though he had a feeling Rin would take a liking to her. Just... hopefully not _too_ much of one..

Ayame knelt on one knee as the girl came running and shyly clung to one of Sesshoumaru's pantlegs, almost behind him, her bouquet still in one arm. Ayame smiled gently. "Aa, you must be Rin. Sesshoumaru-sama has told me quite a bit about you." The girl blinked, peeking out from behind Sesshoumaru a bit more. "You know Sesshoumaru-sama?" She asked, eyes wide. He hadn't told her that! She looked up to Sesshoumaru, who was watching the lady, then looked back to her and finally remembered the Ayame in her hair. "Oh! Ayame!" She exclaimed, and held one out to her with a bright smile. Ayame grinned, taking the flower. "Ohh, thank you! That's my name, you know." She couldn't help but giggle at the girl's startled expression.

"You have an Ayame in your hair, and your name is Ayame! Were you..." She tilted her head a bit. "Were you named after the flower, or was the flower named after you?" Ayame blinked, smiling at the girl's question. She was too cute. "I was named after the flower. Isn't it pretty?"

Rin nodded. "It suits you! The Ayame, it suits you. Ayame. Rin thinks you're both pretty."

Sesshoumaru blinked at her. Okay, that was a cue to leave. Ayame blushed and thanked the child. "You're very pretty too, Rin. You're going to grow up to be a very beautiful lady." Rin laughed and jumped with glee. "Yay!! Rin wants to be pretty when she grows up! Sesshoumaru-sama, Rin's going to be a pretty grown up!"

"Yes, Rin. We must go now." He nodded, turning to head to another side of the pond. Maybe Ayame had something to do. He wasn't too sure he wanted her around much longer. Having the white wolf princess travel with his pack?

"Ah! Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama! Rin wants to learn to fish!" Ayame perked up. "Fishing?" Rin nodded excitedly. "Yes! Sesshoumaru-sama and Rin are gathering food for our morning meal! Would you like to help, miss Ayame? If it's alright with Sesshoumaru-sama?" Sesshoumaru nearly smacked his forehead. He sighed and turned back to Ayame, catching her gaze. Her green eyes were almost begging to tag along, it seemed. He sighed heavilly, shaking his head. "Fine. You may come, if you wish, princess."

Rin's eyes widened again. "Princess?! Really?! You're a princess, miss Ayame?!"

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes. Dammit..

Ayame smiled and nodded. "Yep! Princess of the white wolf tribe, at your service." She bowed, and Sesshoumaru turned quickly, his eyes on the verge of becoming a glowing red. But Rin didn't react so badly. She merely tilted her head with a soft smile. "The white wolves can't be so bad then, with a princess like you, Ayame." Sesshoumaru let out a soft sigh of relief as they continued and Rin's words echoed in his mind.

Fifteen minutes later found the trio in a completely different location. Ayame had suggested a nice river she'd spotted not too far off that seemed to be packing with fish this time of year. As they neared the stream, they could already see a good number of fish leaping from the water. Rin gasped in delight, her eyes wide. "Sesshoumaru-sama, how are we gonna catch the fish?!" She asked, looking up to him. He pondered that a moment, studying the rushing water. There must be a waterfall nearby, with the way the current was flowing.

"This Sesshoumaru and Ayame will catch the fish, Rin. It's too dangerous." Rin pouted slightly with a sigh, but settled in to make a wreath of all the flowers she'd collected for the princess.

Ayame sighed, a smile on her face as she walked beside Sesshoumaru toward the riverbank. "You do so well with her. It's like she's really your pup." She smiled, but it was quickly replaced with surprise as Sesshoumaru shot her a sharp look. But then it was Sesshoumaru's turn to be surprised. Any other fool, he'd thought, would blubber and apologize quickly, saying they didn't mean it like that and they understood that she was a human and he was a great Inu Taiyoukai who wouldn't actually ever _really_ care for a human pup or some other such nonsense. But as they reached the riverbank, Ayame's expression seemed not only of surprise, but more of understanding. She smiled, nodding slowly. "I'm sorry. By this point, she really is pretty much your pup, isn't she?"

Sesshoumaru watched as she hardly even looked at him, biting her lip as she watched the fish, studying them. And then she finally looked up at him again, smiling. He could almost feel blood rushing to his cheeks. Confused by himself, he nodded with a sigh and quickly turned back to the water. "We're going to need a lot," he began, and looked to Ayame in surprise as she suddenly interrupted him! But.. hearing her valid point, he dismissed it.

"We're going to need something to put them in so they don't dry up and go bad while we're catching them!" She gasped, the realization hitting her. Especially if they needed so many! "Hrmmm..." She placed a hand over her lips, the other on her hip as she looked around and did a double take at Sesshoumaru, an eyebrow raising as she seemed to be checking him out.

Sesshoumaru felt himself blush, and also felt himself growing angry that he couldn't figure out why. "Woman, what are you staring at?" He nearly growled, and blushed again as she giggled.


	5. Disaster

"Sorry.. it's just that.. well, we could probably load the fish into your sleeves, if you don't - You know, we could actually probably just have you stick your hand in and use your sleeve as a giant net!" She covered her mouth with one hand, finding herself giggling... and then had to use the other hand as well as she found herself laughing. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh, I like your yukata, really, but.. it really might work!" She shook her head, still laughing.

His chest puffed up a bit, angry and about to tell her so when he realized Rin had overheard, and was laughing as well. So the petite wolf princess thought it was funny, huh? He cast his gaze to her. He'd have the last laugh in this one. "Very well." He replied cooly, and began untying his sash and taking off his armor. Ayame's eyes grew very wide. "Aa! I - I was only joking!"

"No, but you are right. My sleeves would make wonderful nets. Come, let me show you."

Ayame stood, unable to tear her gaze away as he set his armor down and took off his haori, unneccesarily relieving himself of the kosode beneath it as well, slipping it off broad, tanned shoulders and revealing his toned, muscled chest as he let the white underlayer hang at his waist, secured by his pants. Ayame gulped. "Uh.. alright, I mean, it's your clothes.." She sighed, knowing that she must be blushing furiously. Especially now that he was walking toward her. She averted her gaze quickly back to the water. But he still came up to her, close.

"Are you going to help me with the net, princess?" Ayame sighed, chuckling a bit. "You know, you don't have to call me pri-" she paused midsentence as she turned to look at him again. He was.. really close. So close she could almost feel the warmth from his skin on her arm. She looked up into his eyes, which seemed to be watching her almost intently. "...I mean... unless of course, you want to..." She mumbled, and took a sleeve.

Sesshoumaru watched her as she carefully took his haori and shook out the sleeve a bit, carefully placing the fabric into the water and watching as the fish tried to avoid the sudden net. He was about to step into the water when Ayame noticed and jumped back up. "No, no, you'll get your pants all wet. Don't worry, I'll do that. I'm used to fishing in the water anyway, and you have longer arms. This will work." He watched her hop into the rushing water, easily bracing herself against the current and letting his sleeve pool out beside her. With a soft sigh, he knelt beside the bank, dipping the other sleeve into the water. It could use a wash, anyway.

Ayame grinned, shaking her head. "This is really working so well! It's still kind of funny." It was indeed working very well. The fish were having a hard time avoiding both sleeves. He nodded in approval. It wasn't long before they had enough fish, and a few extra for Ayame to join as a thank you for helping. He was about to tell her to bring it in when a familiar voice suddenly screamed, and his heart nearly stopped. His eyes wide, he turned his head quickly downstream. Rin! She was dangling precariously from a branch, and losing her grip. "Ayame-!" He began, about to tell her to bring it in quickly or drop it altogether. But she threw it at him and quickly dashed downstream toward Rin. If not for Rin being in danger he would have been furious, but thankfully her throw had been enough to get the whole thing ashore. He dropped his sleeve, dashing after her.

"Rin-chan, hold on!" Ayame called, going as fast as her legs would carry her. She reached the branch and took Rin's hands, tugging the poor crying girl back up and picked her up, hugging her close as she began to walk back off the branch. Sesshoumaru was still on his way and had only a moment to sigh in relief before the branch itself broke. Ayame's stomach sank as she dropped into the rushing water, clinging to Rin so she wouldn't lose her. She kicked around for a grip, but the water was too deep. She couldn't reach the bottom. With the rush of water in her ears, she quickly turned to see that the falls wasn't too far off... and quickly approaching. She reached out with one arm, trying to catch a boulder, a branch, something!

"Sesshoumaru-sama!!" Rin cried, clinging to Ayame who still held her tight. Ayame was getting frantic, but she tried her best not to panic and lose rational thought. She tried fighting the current, tried to swim with one arm back upstream and closer to the bank. Swimming wasn't helping much. She turned around, facing the oncoming falls and saw a blur rushing along the bank. Sesshoumaru! And there was a fallen tree trunk just before the falls. She turned toward the bank and swam as hard as she could, trying to get closer in range of the tree so Sesshoumaru wouldn't have to lean too far over. Rin was still crying and Ayame hoisted her up as much as she could to keep the water out of her face. Breathing heavy from fighting the current, she tried to focus and nearly leapt at Sesshoumaru's hands at the last moment.

He gripped Ayame's wet arm tightly, pulling her from the rushing water with a little effort and hurried her to shore as she cradled Rin, comforting her. "We're safe now, Rin. Are you alright? Did you swallow water? Does your nose hurt? Blow your nose, here.." She sat on the grass, Rin in her lap and Sesshoumaru kneeling beside them. Rin hugged Ayame, wiping her nose on her own sleeve before remembering that Sesshoumaru was there too, and turned to hop into his arms, hugging him. He sighed and held her close, patting her back. "Rin, didn't I tell you it was dangerous?" He asked firmly but not too stern, knowing she was already very upset.

"Rin knows, but she didn't realize she was so close to the edge, and she was playing with the butterflies, and Rin lost her balance," She began to cry again and Sesshoumaru hushed her, looking to Ayame who was watching with sympathetic eyes. "Are you alright, Ayame?"

She smiled warily, nodding. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you. ...That's twice you've saved me today." She sighed. They rested a moment as Rin pulled herself together then headed back for Sesshoumaru's haori and the fish. They gave his sleeves one last dip to keep the fish cool and wet. Sesshoumaru hauled it over his shoulder and Rin held Ayame's hand on the way back to the cave.


	6. Reunion

Ayame sighed as she and Sesshoumaru sat in one corner of the cave, slicing and gutting the fish for Rin and Jaken with Ah-Un's stash set aside, tossing a fish at one of the heads as he finished them. Jaken had known who Ayame was of course, and Ah-Un had taken with her immediately. Sesshoumaru sighed, plucking another fish from the pile. He had to show Ayame what to take from the fish so it was fit for Rin to eat. She had no problem slicing the fish right open with her claws, even though she was getting a little bloody. He found himself growing to like her a bit as well.

After breakfast, the troupe picked up, ready to leave the cave and journey on again. Rin handed Ayame the flower crown she'd made for her, and Ayame happily put it on. "Oh, Rin, it's lovely! Thank you!" She grinned, and tried to fit it over her pigtails. Rin tugged gently on her boot and Ayame knelt, letting Rin carefully take down Ayame's pigtails as the two of them raked their fingers through her hair. Ayame had been wondering when she'd take them down, really. It was like letting her childhood go. She smiled, closing her eyes as Rin set the wreath atop her head. "There! Perfect!" Rin beamed, and Ayame stood.

Sesshoumaru almost forgot to breathe. He cleared his throat. She hadn't looked so bad with the pigtails, but with her hair down... Ayame was... well, quite lovely. She looked more like a woman, more grown up. Ayame hugged Rin, who pouted a little. "Does Ayame have to go?" She asked in a tiny voice. Ayame nodded. "I do. I have to check in on my pack and make sure everything's going alright." She sighed. She also had to catch that fiancee of hers. Still being a pain. She shook her hair out a little, liking the feel of her lockes cascading down her back. "Well, I'll see you again soon, Ok, Rin?" She smiled brightly, and patted each of Ah-Un's heads before dashing off with a wave to all of them, mostly to Sesshoumaru and Rin. "Bye, guys! Thank you for the help, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

There was the tiniest tug of a few muscles on his face as he found himself waving her off in return. He stopped though, feeling both Rin and Jaken's eyes on him. He looked down to them, his brows furrowed. "...What?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama..." Rin breathed out, the expression on her face stunned as though she'd seen a ghost or something. Jaken bore the same look and even Ah-Un seemed a bit confused.

"What is it?!" He asked again, frowning slightly. This time Jaken answered him, as Rin seemed unable to. "Sesshoumaru-sama.. it's... you, just now... you... you smiled, a little bit." He said, cringing ever so slightly as though he would be punished for daring to let those words come from his mouth.

Sesshoumaru blinked. "I... I smiled?"

Ayame yawned, the heat tiring her out a bit. She was quite a ways from the forest area where she'd parted from Sesshoumaru and Rin. It seemed they weren't going in this direction. She paused at a spring, sprinkling a bit of water onto her flower wreath in hopes of keeping the blossoms alive. She figured it would be nice to cool off from the heat as well, and peeked around for unwanted onlookers before tugging off her cape, boots, wristbands, and skirt and armor. She kept her clothes close and slipped into the water, making sure the flowers stayed afloat. It would be easier for them to drink in the water. She resolved not to stay too long before resuming her search for Kouga. She sprinkled more water atop the flowers and set them ashore again, turning to rest her head and arms on a rock, thinking back to the previous night and the early morning. Her cheeks rouged again as she remembered the sight of Sesshoumaru with his clothing half off.. and he'd left it off in the cave to keep from dirtying it. Such a body on that man...

She gasped, realizing she was daydreaming about him. Not good. Not normal. Her Grandfather would disapprove, she knew it. She had to find Kouga. Before her imagination got the best of her. She shook her head and lifted herself on her arms, out of the water when her heart stopped, eyes wide at the familiar voice behind her.

"Ayame? Is that you?"

Ayame shrieked and immediately dropped back into the water, turning to face him. "Kouga!! Why on earth would you sneak up on me like that?" She pouted, her brows furrowed as she curled up in the water. Kouga smirked at her. "What? You want to be my woman anyway, right? What does it matter if I come to you like this?" Ayame sighed, noticing his two lackeys weren't with him. "Where are Ginta and Hakkaku?" She asked, leaning to one side to see if she could peek behind him.

"Stayed home." He shrugged a shoulder, walking over to the bank near where she was shoulder-deep crouching in the water. She followed him with her eyes and looked up to him as he knelt on the bank in front of her.

"So, why are you here? And not running for your life from me?" She asked a bit cautiously. He smiled at her, his hand brushing a cheek and capturing a few auburn strands of her hair. "When did you take your hair down?" He asked, his eyes fixed on her. She sighed heavilly and leaned her head away a little, looking up at him with a small smirk. "I'm sure my hair coming down didn't draw you from wherever you were just to come find me." She joked lightly. He smirked as well and stood, stripping without warning. Ayame's eyes widened, and she blushed, turning her head. She stared into the water, her mind beginning to race... not to Kouga's naked body slipping into the water beside her, but wondering why she'd turned away at all, when she'd stared openly at Sesshoumaru.

She felt his fingers on her chin and he turned her face to his. She stared into his lovely blue eyes, but felt like something was wrong. She tried to shake it off and cleared her throat. "So then, are you finally ready to come back to the mountain with me?" She asked, turning her head to run some water along her arm. Before she realized what had happened, Kouga pinned her against a rock. Not too hard, but just enough to make her utter a small noise in surprise. And then his lips were on hers. Her eyes were wide in surprise. This was not exactly how she'd imagined mating with him. She broke their kiss with a gasp as Kouga's hands slid up along her skin from her thighs. "Kouga?"

He only smirked at her and sighed, lowering his lips to her neck. She closed her eyes, a small moan escaping her at the sensations. Maybe it wasn't what she'd thought, but so far.. it wasn't so bad. Except for that nagging feeling.. "Kouga, why are you so eager all the sudden?" She asked breathily as he kissed her again.

"What? Do you want to be my mate or not?" He asked a bit sharply. Ayame frowned a little as his hand slipped down to her hip. She didn't like his tone. Without another word, she tried to slip past him, but he kept her against the rock. "What, is that a no? After all this time, you trying to get me to come back with you to the mountain and now all of a sudden, now that I come to you, you don't want to anymore?"

"Maybe if you came in the first place like you'd promised I wouldn't have all these doubts in my mind."

Kouga growled, leaning in close to her and causing her nose to twitch, ready to bare her fangs right back. This was definitely not what she'd ever imagined happening. Suddenly, he paused, his brows furrowing in confusion and he carefully leaned closer, sniffing at her a little bit. "You... smell like a human.. I mean - have you been with a human?"

"That's not your business." She sighed heavilly. "But, yes. A little girl." He rose an eyebrow at her. "Yeah? Well your little girl smells a little funny." Now Ayame did growl and forcefully shoved him off. He stumbled a little bit and she glared at him as she headed for her clothes. "Leave Rin alone." She snarled, and put on her wristbands and readied to hop out of the spring when Kouga's next words stopped her dead in her tracks. "Rin, huh? Oh.. Sesshoumaru's kid. Right? So... you've been hanging around with that mutt?" Ayame closed her eyes and took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm. Boy, was he ever pissing her off!

He grabbed her wrists and turned her to face him again. "So that's it, huh? You couldn't wait a little bit so you went messing around with some dog?!"


	7. Pup

"We didn't do anything!" She barked, her eyes dark with fury. "Though at this point I probably would take him over you! At least he's a gentleman, not throwing himself on a lady!" She huffed. "Now let me go."

Kouga began to shake his head, glaring back at her. She didn't want to hurt him, but if she had to, so help her... As she was about to, however, the tip of a sword suddenly was pointed right at Kouga's throat. "You will leave her be if you wish to live. Wolf." Came the icy tone of Sesshoumaru. Ayame's eyes widened, completely shocked and surprised. When had he arrived?! She was so busy arguing with Kouga she hadn't even noticed, and neither had Kouga.

The wolf prince growled at Sesshoumaru and reluctantly backed off. Ayame grabbed her clothing and hurried out of the water, behind Sesshoumaru to clothe herself. Sesshoumaru allowed Kouga out of the water to take his clothes and leave. Kouga dressed quickly, glaring at the both of them as Ayame finished dressing and stepped out from behind Sesshoumaru. He frowned at her in particular. Their mating season, and she wasn't even in heat yet? "You _will_ be my mate, Ayame. Soon." He promised before hurrying away.

Sesshoumaru sighed, sheathing the Toukijin and turning to Ayame. "Are you alright?" He asked, noticing her cheeks were a bit flushed. Ayame merely smiled shyly and nodded. "That's three." She giggled.

(Later)

"AYAME!" Rin shouted with obvious excitement, dashing for the wolf princess with arms wide as Jaken tried to ask her to calm down. He was ignored as Ayame grinned excitedly herself and hurried toward Rin, kneeling to scoop the girl into her arms. Rin laughed, hugging her tightly. "Rin is glad Ayame came back! Sesshoumaru-sama found Ayame!" She smiled warmly, hugging her again.

"Found me? You weren't... specifically looking for me.. were you?" Ayame asked a bit suspiciously, slowly turning to look up at a quite somber Sesshoumaru. He closed his eyes and sighed lightly before looking down to her. "No." He said simply, but it was quickly rendered as a blatant lie.

"Rin couldn't sleep," Rin pouted at Ayame, her hands clasped behind the wolf girl's neck as she leaned back in her arms. "Rin was worried about Ayame going off on her own. Rin hopes you're not angry, Princess Ayame." She looked up at her from beneath her lashes. There was no way Ayame could be angry with such an adorable child. She smiled, shaking her head. "Nope. I'm not angry at all. It's a good thing you sent Sesshoumaru-sama after me, actually. I needed his help. Thank you, Rin." She smiled, and rubbed noses with her which caused Rin to laugh and hug her again.

Ayame stood with Rin in her arms, casting Sesshoumaru a look that said they needed to talk, and he gave her a small nod in agreement. Rin pulled back to look at Ayame as she stood up with her, still smiling. "You kept your hair down. And you kept the flowers alive! Rin is happy!"

"Rin also has to go to bed now." Sesshoumaru nodded to the girl who rubbed noses with Ayame one last time before she set her down. Rin said her goodnights to Sesshoumaru and Ayame before hurrying back to Jaken and Ah-Un and settling for bed. Ayame watched her like a proud mother, her chest swelling with pride and joy as she watched Rin run off to bed, a smile on her face. And Sesshoumaru watched Ayame closely, wondering how the two girls had seemed to grow so close in such a short amount of time. He could forsee this being a problem..

"Well, we'd better get to talking before it gets too late." Ayame sighed, finally breaking the silence between them and heading off in a different direction from Rin, Jaken, and Ah-Un. Sesshoumaru followed, quickly catching up and walking beside her. Ayame took it upon herself to start as they walked liesurely side by side through the forest. "So.. you came to find me because Rin..-?" She tried to ask but couldn't find a way to end the sentence. He came just because Rin couldn't sleep one night without her?

"Rin has grown very attached to you in a very short amount of time. I don't know how that happened, but it's a bit of a problem." He sighed, hopping up on a boulder to sit. As she was about to hop up beside him, he held his hand down to her to help pull her up. Ayame blinked at him, blushing as she placed her hand in his and allowed him to help her up the boulder. The pink in her cheeks deepened as she realized there was less space than she'd originally thought there to be atop the giant rock. She sighed and sat beside Sesshoumaru, close so she wouldn't fall.

"Yeah.. it's weird.. I've grown very attached to her too.. I think for me, it may be because I've never been accepted so quickly by anyone before. It feels nice. And Rin is just so adorable.. it's like having a -" She paused, her eyes widening as she realized what she'd been about to say. She already knew Sesshoumaru considered her to be his pup. To say that she felt motherly toward her..

But to her surprise, Sesshoumaru shifted to face her, and she turned her head to look at him. She hated when they were this close.. for some reason it seemed worse on her now, knowing him a little better and being alone and this close to him. And suddenly it hit her. She realized why Kouga had acted the way he had earlier at the spring. She realized why it was strange being alone with Sesshoumaru like this even though she enjoyed his company. Mating season. Oh Gods, was she ever in trouble. Sesshoumaru looked like he was about to say something, but when Ayame realized her problem she tried to leave immediately, prepared to hop from the boulder and leave and never return, perhaps until winter. She couldn't mate with a dog. It was unheard of. And she was certain someone of his standing wouldn't much care to mate with a petty wolf princess. She crouched to hop down, but Sesshoumaru caught her wrist.

"Where are you going? We've barely spoken. This Sesshoumaru is not done with you." Ayame's eyes widened and she felt her heart speed up in her chest. "Sesshoumaru, I have to go. Please. I can't stay here any longer."

His brows furrowed at her. What sort of nonsense was she speaking? "Woman, what has gotten into you? We agreed to talk, and now we're talking. So if you would let me speak." It sounded like more of an order than a request, so Ayame sucked in a deep breath and carefully perched herself again on the boulder beside him, avoiding eye contact.

"You were saying? It's like having a daughter, that's what you were about to say?"

Ayame peeked at him and nodded slightly. Sesshoumaru watched her expression. She seemed embarrassed to admit it.. or was she embarrassed about something else? He watched her another moment before he found his gaze slipping down to the pale skin of her throat, the bright light of the moon illuminating the fine curves of her breasts beneath her armor. He found himself wondering if Ayame might actually be a good candidate for a mother for Rin. At this point, it seemed Rin would have no other for the spot. Ayame could travel with his pack without becoming his mate. As princess of her tribe, she had to choose an adequate husband anyway, he supposed. Still, it was a surprise to even him as he found himself attracted to her scent, and he leaned closer to lightly sniff at her hair.


	8. Sparks

Ayame gulped, holding her breath as he drew closer to her. Did he know that he was pretty much torturing her right now? She remained still as a statue as he sniffed her hair, right by her ear.. her neck. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the tingles of excitement rushing through her body. She didn't think she could take it. They'd both regret it if she stayed any longer. She stood to leave again, but Sesshoumaru took her wrist again, pulling her down once more. "Sessh, please, I have to go. I have to!"

An eyebrow rose in something like amusement at the nickname. He wasn't sure exactly what it was that evoked the reaction, but the tone of her voice.. it sounded different than when she'd previously been speaking to him. "Are you alright?" He asked, unable to figure her out just yet. But before she could answer, he drew close to sniff her hair again. He quite liked it... and the thought passed through his mind that.. he might even quite like her.

"I will be, once you let me go." She whispered in response, her chest heaving slightly. Was she ill? He gave her a questioning look and the moment he saw her face, he knew. She was in heat. And he wasn't helping. But even knowing that, for some reason, he didn't want to let her go just yet. He sighed. "What are we going to do about Rin?" He asked in a low tone, close to her ear. He realized too late that had been a bad idea. His breath on her neck caused her to shiver. She tried to hide her embarrassment by turning her face away and running her fingers through her hair. But now he was intrigued. Something about her seemed to draw him to her.. maybe her being in heat gave her some sort of beautiful glow about her? Or maybe.. he gulped to think he might even be in heat himself. He'd never really been in heat for a woman before, and Ayame had been the first to really talk to him and get to know him a bit.

When a few moments had passed and he hadn't moved, she reluctantly turned to face him again, looking into his eyes. She gasped a little when he met her gaze, his eyes seeming to search hers for something, she wasn't sure what. "Sesshoumaru, please. I-" Before she could finish, he placed a finger to her lips, his hand gently lifting her chin as his finger was replaced with his own lips in a soft kiss. He was a little surprised when Ayame responded, sighing into his kiss and kissing him back. Of course, in her state, he should have realized she wouldn't really oppose, but.. then again, she had opposed Kouga quite forcibly.

Ayame placed a hand to his chest, gently pushing him back as she pulled herself away, shaking her head. "I..I can't do this. I have to go, Sessh, really." Sesshoumaru rose an eyebrow as she used the new nickname again but continued to hold her wrist as he shook his head. "Not yet.. I'm still not done with you."

Had he not been so gentle in his actions, Ayame might have opposed him like she had with Kouga. But his hand on her cheek and his lips pressing softly to hers, almost as though he were asking, it was just too sweet. She rose her chin to him as he kissed her again, his arms slipping around her and pulling her close to him as she placed her hands on his arms.

"Sesshoumaru, please. We can't do this. Please stop.. I c- I can't control myself.." She admitted, her face flushing a bright red. She lowered her chin, looking off to one side. But her eyes widened as she felt him move closer again, his lips near her ear as he whispered two words that made her heart stop.

"I know."

She froze, her eyes wide for a moment before she finally lifted her head to look at him. "You.. know?! Then, why are you doing this to me?!" She asked, her brows furrowed in confusion. She looked almost afraid. Afraid they'd regret her staying here. She should have gone sooner, despite what he said. But she'd stayed for Rin... now what? Her attention was drawn from her thoughts as she realized that Sesshoumaru's own chest was heaving very slightly. With a small gulp, she placed a hand to his heart. "...Sesshou..maru?" She blinked at him, quite confused. His eyes.. the way he was looking her over now.. she liked it, but at the same time...

Sesshoumaru's head seemed to be reeling with a million different thoughts at once. Why was he advancing upon her? What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he stop? Her scent was so intoxicating, and the taste of her lips so sweet.. he'd never known a woman like this before, and he wanted to know more of her. As she placed her hand to his chest, he covered it with one of his own, his eyes on hers. He was watching her so closely that he noticed the moment she started to seem genuinely uncomfortable. "Ayame?" He asked in a gruff whisper, his hand caressing her cheek. The look she cast was almost apologetic.

"Please. I really can't. At least not now. Oh, what am I saying?!" Ayame shook her head, casting him an almost pained look. She heaved a few deep breaths before placing a hand on his cheek and leaning forward, quickly placing a kiss to his lips before dashing away quicker than his slowed senses could grasp. With golden eyes wide, he watched Ayame dash from his arms and away from him. Probably for the better, he thought grimly, and sighed heavilly before heading back to the cave. What had come over him? He frowned, trying to make sense of his own impulsive actions.. but all he could think of was her scent. Ayame...


	9. Dilemma

Ayame was a blur of white and auburn as she dashed through the forest, determined to get as far away from Sesshoumaru as possible. She ran until her lungs burned, forcing her to stop. She gulped in breaths of the crisp night air as she leaned against a tree in a small clearing. What the hell had just happened? How could she let things get even the slightest bit out of hand like that? Why in the world had Sesshoumaru kissed her first? Twice? She brought trembling fingers to her lips. She could still feel his lips on hers, unlike after Kouga. Her eyes widened at the fact that she'd failed to even realize that she'd kissed Kouga today. Everything that had happened with him had just been one whirling unpleasant blur.

She sighed, slumping against the tree, leaning her head back against the bark as she gazed lazily up at the starlit sky. Up until these past few days, her life had never really been much of a problem. Mating seasons had come and gone with her waiting patiently for the season to come where she would finally mate with Kouga. It had been her romantic dream since she was a little pup. Last season had come and gone with Kouga being so close within her reach, but he hadn't been ready to mate. Goofing around with the human girl Kagome and teasing the girl's mate. Why hadn't she realized then that he must be such a jerk? To try ditching his own betrothed, fiancee by a promise from his own lips, his own words, for some human who was obviously claimed?

A breeze blew past, and as a few spots on her skin cooled quicker than the rest, she realized she'd been crying. And was still crying. But how could she really help it when her world was falling apart? What would Grandfather think? Kouga had finally come to her, and she had refused him. And now she was.. falling in love.. with an Inu Taiyoukai? Sesshoumaru had to be way out of her league. And just because he had placed a few sweet lingering kisses to her lips.. didn't mean he actually liked her in that way, right? With a sigh Ayame rose, wiping the tears from her cheeks and chest and arms before trudging slowly home, her head low. Ashamed.

Sesshoumaru somehow managed to arrive at the cave nearly an hour later. How he'd managed to drag out such a short distance home was beyond him. He tried to think of an excuse.. not that he'd really need one. No one would question him. Except maybe Rin, out of curiousity.. Oh, Rin... He hoped she was sleeping. The previous night, she'd had a bad dream. She'd told him of it, much to his relief. He wasn't sure how he'd be able to ask her why she'd called out for Ayame in her sleep if she hadn't. She'd dreamt about the wolves that attacked her home and killed her. And she'd reached out for Ayame in her sleep, as though she were asking to be picked up. He wondered if maybe Rin was just a bit excited to meet a wolf that wasn't trying to eat and kill her.

His eyes heavy with sleep, he climbed into the cave to settle in his own little corner again. He curled up quickly and closed his eyes, heading fast to slumberland. The softest sigh escaped him as he heard the rustling of a small body and felt Rin crawling to curl up with him moments afterward. He peeked his eyes open to look down at her. "Rin? Is something wrong?"

As soon as her big brown eyes peeked back up at him, he knew the direction this would go... "Sesshoumaru-sama, Ayame didn't want to come stay with us?"

He gave another gentle sigh, patting her on the head. "Rin, Ayame is princess of her tribe. She doesn't get to live a fairytale princess life like you may have heard of in your human village. She has to help protect her pack, and when she mates, it must be for the good of the pack. She may visit from time to time, but she can't stay." He glanced to the entrance of the cave to avoid eye contact with Rin. His tone had sounded as though he were reminding himself as well. He felt Rin nod and looked down to see a sad look on her face as she'd drifted back off to sleep. He'd known this wouldn't end well.. why had he pursued Ayame? She might have at least stayed the night with Rin if he hadn't advanced on her while she was in heat. He thought about that a moment. Just what in the Seven Hells was wrong with him to advance on her in a condition like that?! He frowned to himself. He'd give it more thought tomorrow, perhaps. But for now, sleep was calling his name.

Ayame's mood was so dark over the next few days that noone dared speak to her. The pack had always treated her with the utmost respect doing things such as parting to create a path for her when she walked or speaking with her on matters before acting, but not a single white wolf had approached the princess for days. The paths cleared for her were wider than usual. Ayame had never been roaring angry before, and because of her passive nature they feared what she might become when angry. But even when a sort of morbid, faraway look crossed her face, finding her in the corner of the den or perched just outside of it, they still were afraid to ask.

A few did, and word quickly spread that when spoken to, she would reply as tersely as possible, in a bored tone. Indifferent, like she didn't care. This news quickly reached her Grandfather. Was she ill? He knew she must be spoken to. Something was obviously bothering her.

Today found her perched lazily just outside the den, gazing off into the distance, looking bored. She barely noticed when her Grandfather approached, and he noted that she didn't even greet him until he spoke to her first, which seemed to catch her attention and she turned her head to him and nodded a greeting. Definitely not her usual, cheery self. The old wolf sighed heavilly. "Ayame. Come with me, my child. We must speak." Ayame merely nodded in response, hopping down off the rock and following her Grandfather away from the pack to speak in private.

Her eyes remained downcast as she followed him. It was a while later that he finally sat beside a brook and she instinctively took a seat beside him. He turned to look at her, but she continued to stare into the water. She knew he wanted her to tell him what was wrong, but how could she? It wasn't that the Inu tribe was terrible or anything, but it was more a natural knowledge that wolves mated with other wolves. Not dogs. He sighed heavilly and she peeked over at him briefly before looking back into the water.

"Ayame. Such behavior cannot continue. The entire pack is worried. What in the world has gotten into you?" He frowned slightly, but his brows were furrowed with concern. Ayame was silent for a moment, debating whether or not she really should tell, but decided she couldn't. She shook her head gently. "Jii-chan, I can't tell you." She replied a bit meekly. She had never defied her Grandfather. For her to do so now, he knew it must be something extremely upsetting for her. He sighed and stood on all fours, nuzzling her arm gently with his nose. "Ayame. You've never kept a thing from me. Whatever's weighing on your mind is bringing you down completely. You've barely eaten since you returned. You've barely spoken. You're always so distant. Why?"

Ayame leaned forward, shaking her head as she put her face in her hand. "I.. Jii-chan... Kouga-kun finally came to me.."

Her Grandfather cocked his head, his eyes wide in surprise and delight. "My child! That's wonderful!"

"And I refused him." She finished before he could rejoice further. She held her breath. He was quiet for a moment.

"...I see. That explains this behavior.." He nodded. But Ayame shook her head again. "Jii-chan.. that's only half of it..."


	10. Suspicion

Ayame felt fifteen times better having told her Grandfather the situation. Even though he hadn't really said anything about the ordeal with Sesshoumaru, knowing that he was starting to give Kouga second thoughts after how he'd treated her was good comfort. Still, she couldn't help wondering if she should give him another chance to prove that he could be more like a gentleman and less like a jerk. They were in heat, after all. Sometimes it made wolves go a little crazy. Besides that, there was the fact that the prince of the black wolf tribe was too young for her yet, and she'd heard he was betrothed to the princess of the red wolves. She sincerely wished them all the best with all her heart. Hopefully the red wolf princess would find her life flowing down a far smoother path than this.

She tugged her hair over her shoulder, yawning with a stretch of arms above her head. She smiled as a petal brushed her skin. The flower circlet.. she hadn't really taken it off much, and slept with it beside her head. Not only did the combination of flowers Rin had picked give off that of a lovely bouquet, but it reminded her of Rin, too. And Sesshoumaru. Ayame sighed, laying on her stomach by a small pond, wiggling her fingers in the water. She missed them. Both of them. As a fish swam up to inspect her wiggling fingers, she was reminded of the fishing trip gone nearly disastrous. Poor Rin must have been so terrified. She knew she certainly had been. If not for Sesshoumaru...

Her eyebrow twitched at the image of him that flashed in her mind. She closed her eyes, trying to block it out. No use. She sighed, blinking lazily as she glanced to the circlet beside her. She'd have to make something special for Rin one of these days. The thought made her smile, chuckling to herself. She'd never really thought about pups, and she hadn't spent much time with any, so she was surprised at how quickly she'd gotten attached to Rin. Sniffing one of the lillies in the circlet, she sighed, coming to another realization. She adored Rin. Absolutely loved her. She was well behaved, well mannered, and well... well, just too cute. The word precious came to mind. She knew Sesshoumaru must think the same way of Rin. No wonder he'd tried to find her after a single sleepless night from Rin. She knew that if she were in Sesshoumaru's place and Rin couldn't sleep one night without him, she'd search him out as well.

On another sigh, she shook her head to wake herself up a bit more and begrudgingly pulled herself to stand. She paused as a scent on the breeze caught her nose. Delicately, she picked up her circlet, holding it carefully as she continued to sniff at the air. It was familiar.. intriguing even. On tip toe, as silently as she could, she headed deeper into the forest, in the direction of the scent. A teeny, tiny, nag was telling her maybe it wasn't a good idea, but...

Moving silently, she snaked her way around bushes and branches, avoiding fallen leaves and twigs that would alert someone to her position. It wasn't long before she found the owner of the scent. Something had told her it was him, but for some reason she just had to see...

Sesshoumaru was in the clearing before her, looking almost majestic as he knelt to retrieve a few fallen twigs and pinecones. Kindling for a fire. She gave a confused look, glancing to the sky. Nowhere near dark. Rin must be hungry. Her body seemed to move without consulting her brain first as she stepped into the clearing, and Sesshoumaru turned to look up at her, not at all surprised to see her.

Sesshoumaru had been gathering kindling when a scent caught his nose. His eyes widened a little in his surprise. Could the forest really be so small that he would continue to run into this woman? He mentally scolded himself as a voice somewhere in his head thought that might not be so bad at all. He paused for a moment and decided that maybe she wouldn't head this way. But he was wrong. Ayame stepped out from behind a few bushes, looking more lovely than he'd remembered her last... though it did appear she'd been getting a bit less sleep. His expression didn't falter, but he was quite surprised that she'd come over. He immediately noticed the circlet in her hands and looked into her eyes. "Princess." He nodded politely.

Ayame didn't know what to say. Somehow, she was speechless. Still, she cleared her throat and offered him a shy smile in return, nodding. "Sesshoumaru-sama." She returned. His expression seemed to soften and he nodded her over toward him. "Ayame, if you have the time, would you mind visiting Rin tonight? She misses you."

Ayame's eyes widened and she couldn't keep back the smile that slowly crept to her lips. She nodded. "Yeah. I miss her too."

"I thought you might." He nodded, returning to picking up a few more sticks. Ayame wondered if she should tell him that she missed him too...

(Later)

Sesshoumaru and Ayame returned to the campsite where Rin, Jaken, and Ah-Un remained waiting for Sesshoumaru to return with the last of the kindling. When Ayame emerged by his side, the look on Rin's face was priceless. Ayame grinned as the girl dashed for her full speed, stopping right beside her so she wouldn't drop her bundle. Rin walked between Sesshoumaru and Ayame, and Ayame found herself blushing, thinking how much they looked like a family..

Sesshoumaru looked down to Rin and peeked over at Ayame, noticing that her cheeks were slightly rouged. He knew what she must be thinking, and he could feel the blood rise in his own cheeks at that same thought. He observed Rin and Ayame, chatting happily as though they hadn't seen eachother in months. It had been only days, but truth be told, he felt like he hadn't seen her in forever either.

They set the kindling down by the fire that was already ablaze. Ayame noticed they had quite enough for later on in the night. Rin's food was almost done, and it looked as though Jaken would be eating too. She settled on a log by the fire and Rin was immediately in her lap. It was then that Rin noticed what Sesshoumaru had noted earlier. "Princess Ayame, you look like you haven't slept lately." She pouted, brushing a finger over a purple circle below one of Ayame's jade eyes. Ayame smiled softly and lowered her head. "Yeah.. it's been a little difficult for me to get to sleep." She admitted.

Sesshoumaru frowned at her. There was something else about Ayame that seemed a bit off. He walked over to her and gently urged Rin out of Ayame's lap. He knew this might startle Ayame, but he needed to do this for more than one reason. As soon as Rin was out of Ayame's lap, he offered Ayame his hand. She looked innocently up at him, completely unprepared for his action. As she set her hand in his, he tugged her up and into his arms, the same way he'd held her in the moments he'd seen her last. As he suspected, her eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat. Rin beamed and Jaken and Ah-Un sat unmoving except for their gaping expressions. Ayame turned pink, remaining still in his arms.

He wasn't sure just how his body remembered so distinctively the feel of her in his arms that he knew she hadn't been eating. Over only a few days. Then again, she did tend to be bubbly and active. But he somehow didn't think she'd been doing much lately either. Finally, he looked into her eyes. "You need to eat."


	11. Promise

Ayame's face flushed as she stared at him a moment, her eyes wide. "W-well, what makes you think I haven't already eaten?" She frowned slightly. Sesshoumaru only sighed in reply. "Just eat."

His suspicions of her not eating much were confirmed when she ate little at dinner, or tried to. He'd made sure she finished at least two fish. As he'd grown accustomed to doing whenever Ayame was in his presence, he watched her closely. She ate slowly and seemed quite pensive, staring into the flames unless Rin caught her attention. He knew something was wrong, but what? Would she tell him if he asked? He hoped so. The distant look in her eyes troubled him. And then, of course, he was also troubled to think that he didn't know why he was so troubled over Ayame being troubled. How troublesome! _She_ was troublesome! Not that she'd really done anything particularly dangerous or anything, but... he _had_ "saved" her three times in the short time they'd known eachother. More than being physically troublesome, it was more of a trouble to his mind when she was near... although there was that time it was indeed briefly physical.

He let his mind drift back to that night... her soft skin beneath his fingertips, her slender body in his arms, her lovely scent invading his senses and her soft, beautiful lips beneath his own... He found himself outright staring at her. Her armor was such a nice fit to her, displaying her figure well though it was hidden a bit by her cape. He wondered if he could get her to take it off. His eyes suddenly widened as he realized the thought that had just passed through his mind. His face suddenly felt very hot and he sat up a little straighter.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, what's wrong?" Rin pouted with worried eyes. "Sesshoumaru-sama's face is all red."

Ayame looked over to see what was troubling Rin and found a brightly blushing Sesshoumaru staring right at her. "Um... Sesshoumaru-sama? Can I.. help you?" She asked, not really certain what else to say. The expression on his face was quite funny, though. She bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing as Sesshoumaru cleared his throat and shook his head a bit. "I am fine." He replied tersely, and turned back toward the flames though his face still radiated with color. She wondered what had caused him to blush so deeply. The sky was just beginning to paint itself with hues of sunset, and the knowledge that his face was fully visible and rouged caused him to make subtle efforts to try to hide it. Ayame grinned. The efforts were cute.

To her relief, before she could think much further in the direction of Sesshoumaru, Rin began to gently pat her arm, pointing through the trees to a beautiful patch of sky. "Rin wants to see... it's so pretty!" She smiled. Ayame was ready and willing to wisk her away to find the horizon in that instant, but she knew she had to ask first. She looked to Sesshoumaru, her eyes wide and a smile curving her lips. He nodded, and Ayame took Rin quickly into her arms, darting in and out among the trees as they hurried to reach the forest's end.

They broke through the trees into a burst of brilliant sunlight, the sky laden with slivers of pink, yellow, orange, turquoise and red. The breath was claimed from them as they stared with wide eyes. Ayame couldn't recall having ever seen a more breathtaking sunset in her life. She set Rin down and they ventured near the edge of the cliff, though far enough away to keep from falling for any reason. Ayame took her cape off and laid it on the grass for Rin to sit upon and lay on her stomach beside her. The sun began to turn an orangey-red as it set and Ayame peeked at Rin from the corner of her eye. The lovely child was in awe of the natural beauty displayed before her. She watched intently as though she were streaking each color through the sky with her brown hues. Ayame sighed and returned to watching the sunset when Rin suddenly surprised her.

"Princess Ayame, Rin wishes you could travel with us. Sesshoumaru-sama seems different in a good way when you're around. It makes Rin happy." Ayame blinked at Rin, who smiled brightly in return. "Ayame, Sesshoumaru-sama says you might come to visit me from time to time. Will you? Will Ayame come to visit Rin and Sesshoumaru-sama? Please?" Ayame took in a deep breath as she smiled, sitting up and tugging Rin's little body into a hug.

"Yes, I will. I can't seem to stay away from you." _Either of you..._

"Princess Ayame"  
"You can just call me Ayame, Rin."

"Ayame... are you and Sesshoumaru-sama in love?" Ayame's eyes widened as she looked at Rin, taken by complete surprise.

"W-what?!"

"Sesshoumaru-sama saya Ayame's not like princesses in fairy tales... but Rin thinks that if Sesshoumaru-sama and Ayame fall in love, we can _all_ live happily ever after!" The shock of Rin's words remained on Ayame's face as Rin hugged her again. Well... it wasn't like happily ever afters were unheard of, anyway... but... even with Sesshoumaru? She sighed and held Rin close. "Perhaps, Rin-chan. Perhaps. I guess I have to accept that I feel something for him... Now it's mainly up to him, then. I'll do what I can. Ok, Rin-chan?" She smiled, giving her a little wink.

"YAY!" Rin piped and they rubbed noses a Sesshoumaru appeared to catch the last of the blazing sunset, raising an eyebrow as he noticed Ayame's cape.. was off...He tried not to stare as he seated himself beside her, not without Rin's bright hues watching, now more observant and hopeful than ever. Ayame blushed a bit. It seemed like Rin was expecting her to start in on her little promise right about now. She gulped slightly and smiled at Sesshoumaru. The moment she turned to him, she nearly froze. His eyes were already on her. The little extra beat of her heart told her that she really was starting to feel something for him. She knew it had already been there.. she just had to admit it.

Not sure of the reaction she'd get from Sesshoumaru (but quite aware of the one she'd get from Rin,) she sighed and very cautiously leaned against Sesshoumaru, her arm against his as she lay her head on his shoulder. She winked at Rin who lay on her stomach on Ayame's cape, her hands in her chin as she watched Sesshoumaru and Ayame with a happy, dreamy look. Ayame felt Sesshoumaru stiffen at her sudden nearness, but he didn't object. Progress. She blinked slowly. She wasn't sure if this would actually work.. he probably wouldn't ever dream of mating with some stupid wolf. It would be unheard of in his tribe, and he had a position to maintain. But... he _had_ kissed her...

They stayed that way for a while, watching the last rays of the sun set in the horizon before thinking about heading back to camp. Rin leapt up and stretched. Before she even spoke, Sesshoumaru and Ayame could both tell the little bundle had a good amount of pent-up energy. "Sesshoumaru-sama, Rin needs to exercise!" She exclaimed, reaching her hands high above her head. She bounced in place a bit as Sesshoumaru helped Ayame stand and Rin handed her the cape after shaking it off. Sesshoumaru nodded and placed his hand on the small of Ayame's back as he led them back toward their site. So.. exercise then? This would be interesting, Ayame thought as they walked.


	12. Search

(Later)

Ayame held her breath. She tried not to move. If she did, all would be lost. She would be found, and it would be all over. The faint light from the campfire glowed in the distance. Cautiously, she peeked out around the trunk of the giant oak that hid her body from the one looking for her. Her eyes widened as she took in the scene... everyone was completely gone from sight. Jaken, Ah-Un, Sesshoumaru, and Rin. She took in a deep breath and pressed her back against the trunk once more. She'd been hidden there for nearly eight minutes now. For eight minutes there had been complete silence. Her blood was pounding in her ears. The adrenaline rushing through her body helped her stay perfectly still, though her muscles were ready to run the moment she was found. If she was found.

Her eyes widened again and she forced herself not to look as a scream pierced through the forest. Jaken.. he'd been found. She could hear two pairs of feet scuffling about as Jaken ran for the campsite. She let herself breathe a bit more quickly, though silently. Poor Jaken.. the first to fall. Ah-Un was next, a short time after. Now only she and Sesshoumaru were left.

She took in another deep breath and cautiously looked out at the area before her, careful not to let any bit of her be seen from the other side of her tree. Her eyes skimmed the darkness, looking for Sesshoumaru. She would probably be next.. he would probably be the last to fall. He was used to this. This was completely new to her. She caught a glimmer of a silver wisp in a patch of moonlight. His hair! He was hidden behind a giant tree, just like her. So it wasn't a bad spot. She let herself give a small, inward sigh. But it was only a matter of time before they'd both be found. She peeked around the tree again to notice that their stalker had gone off in the opposite direction, for now. She took the opportunity to silently creep over to where Sesshoumaru was hiding. He rose an eyebrow at her as she joined him.

"You realize," he whispered, "That we'll be found easier this way?"

Ayame peeked around him. Still safe for the moment. "Yes, but.. I was getting too anxious hiding alone.." She blushed slightly, and pressed close to him as the stalker finally turned in their direction... guided ever so slightly by Jaken. Traitor.

Sesshoumaru sighed and slipped an arm around her waist, gently pulling her closer. "You'll never win if that's the case. And you'd bring someone else down with you, every time."

"She can't outrun the both of us.."

"She's only human. We have to be fair. And she's still a pup."

"And she's coming this way!" Ayame whispered, placing a finger to his lips. If they were going to lose at hide-and-seek together, so be it. But it wouldn't be because they were talking to make themselves obvious! Sesshoumaru rose an eyebrow at Ayame and nudged her finger from his lips. He could hear Rin's small footsteps now, treading cautiously over fallen twigs and dried leaves. On an instinct, he held Ayame around the waist, close to him as he slowly slipped around the trunk of the tree, just in time with Rin's circling of it to make them still invisible to her. Ayame grinned, trying not to laugh as Rin proceeded past the tree, then suddenly stopped.

"Eh? Oh, Sesshoumaru-sama... where are you hiding?" She cooed softly, tip-toeing back toward the tree. Ayame's eyes widened. Should they run now? If they ran and made it back to base, they'd both be safe! She opened her mouth to word it to Sesshoumaru, but he placed his finger over her lips. She pouted at him. Revenge? Not at a time like this! She thought she saw a corner of his lips raise into a sort of smirk just seconds before he called out, "RUN!"

It caught her off guard, and she couldn't help but laugh as the two of them ran almost painfully slowly toward the campsite. Rin was laughing, trying to catch them. Even though they were running what was extremely slow to them, the child was just barely catching up. Ayame smiled. The precious child was seeming more delicate the more she knew her. But she was still so darling. She couldn't blame Sesshoumaru for watching over her so closely.

She made it back to base just before Sesshoumaru, making him the winner of the night. Rin wasn't upset at all. She hugged Sesshoumaru. She was used to him winning, and at least she always found Jaken and Ah-Un. They rested up beside the fire for a while before it was time to set Rin to bed. Rin reached up for Ayame, who carried her to a spot to sleep and set her down on her feet. Sesshoumaru was beside her, watching as Ayame lifted her cape off over her head and wrapped it around Rin, showing her how to cuddle up in it so she'd stay warm for the night. She kissed Rin's cheek, receiving one in return before they rubbed noses and Rin hugged Sesshoumaru goodnight.

Ayame walked close beside Sesshoumaru as they returned to the campfire. Ah-Un soon shuffled to sleep near Rin, and Jaken wasn't far behind. Sesshoumaru and Ayame were up a bit longer before they began to sprinkle dirt on the fire to douse the flames. Ayame stood, stretching her arms above her head. She supposed this was the part where she left again for another few days. What an annoying groove they'd fallen into. She'd rather not leave, but it might be too awkward for Sesshoumaru if she stayed a night. So, she preferred to leave.

Sesshoumaru's golden eyes studied Ayame very closely in the dim light of the moon and campfire embers. With her standing right beside him, he was rendered a very tempting view of her legs. And with that cape off and her body stretched... he found his mind nearly whirling, thoughts coming to him that he'd never thought of before, and hadn't ever really expected to. But he certainly was now.. her figure was so lithe and lovely, and her scent... absently, he reached out to take one of the jagged strips of her skirt into his fingers, feeling her soft fur. She felt the slight tug on her skirt and blinked down at him. Instantly, she felt it again. That heat overtaking her. Damned mating season! Now she had no choice but to leave for the night.

As if reading her mind, Sesshoumaru looked up to her and stood, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close against him, making her gasp in surprise. "Princess," he whispered in her ear, his breath against the skin of her neck making her melt almost instantly. "Don't plan on going anywhere tonight."

She gulped and licked her dry lips, a shiver running through her body as his words registered in her mind. Still, she hoped it didn't mean what her corrupted thoughts were interpreting. "Umm.. for.. for Rin, right?"

"Yes.. for her, too." He murmured, and placed a soft kiss to her neck, feeling her shudder against him.

Ayame's mind was wheeling out of control. He couldn't really mean to...-? With her?

Tonight? And yet, she wanted to, so badly. If things continued this way, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop herself. While the thought scared her a bit, a little rush of adrenaline kept her hopes up, anticipating it. Besides... hadn't she promised Rin..? "Sesshoumaru-sama," she whispered hotly beside his ear, giving him a taste of his own medicine. She felt several of his muscles stiffen against her in reaction. It brought a smile to her lips and she let another breath slip against his skin as her teeth gently grazed along his jawline toward his lips.

Sesshoumaru shuddered. He hadn't ever been with a woman, but so help him that would change tonight. It couldn't be helped. Ayame was simply too tempting. Despite his efforts to hold back any feelings for her that attempted to surface, he'd failed miserably. And now he was losing any self-control he'd tried to maintain. His body tingled all over as her teeth slid along the skin of his jaw and he turned his head to meet her lips in a soft, needing kiss.


	13. Surprise

Ayame sighed, meeting his lips with her own. It was a relief to her lips, to finally be able to feel his once more. She placed a hand to his soft cheek and felt him place his hand over her own. She knew she shouldn't be doing this, and it was getting way out of control, but she didn't care anymore. She was beyond any hope of being able to tear herself from him now. She blinked as she suddenly felt herself lifted into his arms.

"Not here.. too close to Rin." Was his explanation as he darted amongst the trees with her as though she weighed nothing. She nodded in agreement, clinging to him as he ran, her heart pounding in her chest. He finally set her down near the base of a small waterfall and she felt herself blush as he quickly pinned her against a tree, his lips quickly finding hers again. Surprised, a moan escaped her as his hands slid around her waist and pressed her body close to his. She wanted to be closer. She could feel herself beginning to ache for him, and judging by the mound pressing against her lower stomach, she knew he was feeling the same.

She gasped as his lips fell to her neck again and he slipped his leg between hers. The contact sent more aches of need surging through her. She moved back to look at him, her eyes wide as his gaze met hers and she looked to his armor, trying to figure out how to unfasten it. Sesshoumaru quickly shed his armor, setting it aside and lowering his face near Ayame's once more. But she had other plans. She placed a kiss to his cheek before leaning forward, her fingers slipping between the fabrics of his kosode and yukata, shifting them aside to bare his collarbone. She kissed down his neck and felt his bulge stiffen against her. She remembered the sight of him bare chested and took a deep breath as she slipped her whole hand inside his kosode, slowly sliding it off his shoulder.

He let her slip his top off of one arm and shrugged it off his other shoulder, letting it hang by his waist. He rose an eyebrow. If she got to see him topless.. he wanted her the same way. He licked his lips as his hands carefully traced up along her sides, eliciting shivers from her body as he unclasped her armor top. Their eyes met, Ayame blushing furiously as she allowed him to tug her top off over her head. Immediately embarrased, she pressed her back against the tree, trying feebly to cover herself. Sesshoumaru merely took her wrists, kissing each of her palms before placing her arms around his neck and holding her close again.

Everything he did to her made her body tingle. The feel of her bare chest against his own, her skin against his skin.. The feel of his chest against hers was nothing compared to the next instant, when his lips began tracing down the middle of her chest. She felt her body grow hot as she let her hands rest on his shoulders, watching him pause between her breasts and peek up at her as he took one of her hardened nipples into his mouth. Her breath caught in her throat and she bit her lip. His hands were picking up where his lips had left off, slipping down her body, over her skirt. Then his hands were on her thighs. She gulped as he let his hands massage her thighs while his lips continued down her middle. His hands left her skin for a moment to untie her skirt. She bit her lip as he guided her to step out of it, placing it with their armor.

Her skin felt on fire. Especially her face, entirely flushed. She had never been naked like this before anyone in her life. It was embarrassing! She gulped as he looked her over. She subtly tried to hide herself again, but he caught her hands once more. "Don't." Was all he said. All he needed to say. She sighed, relieved for only a moment. Then his hand took one of her legs and placed it on his shoulder. Her eyes grew wide.

"Sesshoumaru?? What are you-?" Before she could finish, his lips were between her thighs. The feel of him where no one had ever touched her before caused a loud moan to escape her. Her body was relieved for only a second, then it ached for more. But it didn't need to ask. She arched her back against the tree as his tongue slid along her womanhood, flicking over her in a way that made her whimper. His hands cupped her bottom, holding her in place against him as she bit her lip and ran her fingers through his hair.

The sensations rushing through her were unlike anything she'd ever felt before. It was overwhelming. She squirmed against him and brought her hands to the bark of the tree, digging her claws into it as she tried to catch her breath. "Sessh," She managed, her tone breathless as she tried to remember what she'd wanted to tell him. But he was making it impossible to think.

Sesshoumaru felt her trembling beneath his hands. He had a mind to stop his little ministrations on her sweet mound and return to those soft lips moaning his name. He was still a little surprised that he was even doing this with her, but as another of her mewlings reached his ears he was reassured that this was what he wanted. And he'd been trying to deny it. But he couldn't any longer. He sighed against her skin, standing and catching her lips in a deep kiss as she released her grip on the tree. She nearly threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms around him as she kissed him back.

He groaned as their skin came in contact and quickly remembered that his own clothing was still hanging half off him. Ayame's senses cleared just enough to recall it as well, and he hissed in a breath as her hands went to untie his belt, grazing sensitive skin. His hands flew to help her, quickly undoing his pants and slipping out of them, kicking off his shoes. Ayame watched him with flushed cheeks. She hadn't watched Kouga undress, but she couldn't tear her gaze from Sesshoumaru. A smile crossed her lips as she resolved to keep Kouga far from her mind tonight. Her heart was pounding in her chest as Sesshoumaru looked up to meet her gaze again. But her heart leapt in the next instant, when she saw one of the most rare sights in the world. With his golden eyes boring into her own, Sesshoumaru held his hand out to her. And... he smiled.


	14. Euphoria

Granted, it was a small smile. But it was enough to make her heart soar. A smile, just for her, from one who never really smiled. She couldn't help smiling herself, her chest swelling with pride as she lifted her hand and placed it into his own. He continued to smile at her as he gently pulled her to him, bringing their bodies close as he kissed her again. Ayame's mind was reeling from his kisses and she wasn't exactly sure how they ended up on the soft grass together, she was only aware of the cool green slivers beneath her bare back as Sesshoumaru hovered above her, his arms propping him up. She smiled shyly and tugged her auburn lockes over one shoulder before reaching up for him again. "Sesshoumaru.. I have to admit... I'm kind of scared about this." She pouted slightly, her brows furrowing with worry.

Sesshoumaru sighed, a finger gently grazing her cheek as he brushed her bangs from her face. He lowered himself to place a few kisses to her cheek. "Don't worry. I promise I won't hurt you." He watched as she nodded, smiling a bit weakly. She trusted him. He buried his lips in the crook of her neck, feeling her shiver against him as he cautiously slipped inside her. Ayame's eyes widened and she cried out in surprise, clinging tightly to him as she arched her back.

"Shh.. shh.." He whispered, running his fingers along her hair to soothe her. He continued to move ever so slowly within her, watching her expression change as she grew used to the feeling of him. When he was sure that she was alright with it, he allowed himself to move more steadily against her. Her soft moans fueled his passions as he held her close against him. He felt her hips move to greet his, responding to his deepening thrusts. He groaned as she did it again, and continued to move with him. A low rumble escaped from deep in his chest as he placed his lips to her neck again. "Ayame.." He murmured against her skin.

She thought she was getting used to it.. thought that the waves of pleasure crashing through her senses would be like this each time he moved within her. Granted, each thrust felt so excruciatingly good that she could feel her mind beginning to cloud over in a blissful haze.. and each one somehow just felt better and better.. She didn't know how much better it could get. Or how much she'd be able to take. It was so strange, how absolutely amazing it felt, but at the same time, it seemed like too much. She was panting heavilly now, moans and whimpers escaping her body against her will. She held so tightly to Sesshoumaru that she was afraid she might hurt him. And then his lips were on her neck again. She had not expected the combined sensations to hurl her so far under those waves of ecstasy. She arched her back, crying out loudly in pleasure. And from that moment on, her cries were out of her control. His hips were moving so hard and fast against her, each thrust landing deep inside her. As much as she loved it, she knew she couldn't take much more. Her body would break, or her soul, or wherever inside her this intense pleasure was coming from. She called his name over and over, pleading between moans for the building pressure to be set free.

Sesshoumaru was reveling in the moment. Though he'd never been with anyone else before, he had the feeling that he would never want to be with anyone else after this. So intriguing, so tempting, so beautiful.. so damned beautiful beneath him. So beautiful, the pitches of ecstasy in her voice, because of him. He loved it... loved her. "Ayame," He breathed again against her skin, and caught her lips between her lovely moans. He couldn't keep her there long.. as his hands slipped along her skin, she moaned again. He loved this little power he had over her.. the ability to make those lovely little sounds escape her at his touch. He was panting now as well, sweat beading his brow as he felt the pressure building up inside him. She was calling his name now, clinging to him. He took her legs and shifted them up by his hips, watching as her eyes widened. He thrust into her, concentrating on taking her over the edge. Neither of them had thought her cries could become more intense, but the new depth he had on her was driving her to a whole new level. She felt so irrationaly overwhelmed with pleasure, she thought she might faint.

And then it hit. Sesshoumaru thrust deep and hit a spot on her inner walls that nearly made her stop breathing. Her eyes widened and she leaned her head back, moving to meet him there again. Could he feel it too? His own groans of pleasure made her think he could. He hit it again. And again. Over, and over until her body could finally handle no more. She could feel every muscle in Sesshoumaru's body tense as she realized that her own body was shuddering violently. And then he spilled inside her. And she cried out loudly, her head spinning.

Sesshoumaru's eyes fluttered open as a few streaks of early morning sunbeams drifted across his eyelids. He blinked slowly, taking in the sight of the trees around him though he didn't move his head from his pillow just yet. He could hear the calm, steady beat of Ayame's heart in his ear. It had soothed him to sleep last night, though he had been drained anyway and didn't really need help sleeping. He sighed deeply, forcing himself to move, which stirred Ayame as well. Her sleepy jade hues peeped up at him. He chuckled. "Good morning, princess." "Good morning to you." She replied with a smile, stretching beneath him. She had slept remarkably well, very comfortably. She blushed slightly at their still nakedness as Sesshoumaru stood and helped her up. They bathed together in the pool at the base of the waterfall before dressing and heading out to hunt for the morning meal.

Ayame couldn't recall ever having felt so... so _alive!_ She felt like a whole new woman. And each time she peeked over at Sesshoumaru, she could feel her cheeks rouge again and her heartbeat quicken. There was no way she could even think to deny it now. She was in love with him. However wrong it might be by their species, she was in way too deep to fix it now. But she'd worry about that later. For now, she had to help Sesshoumaru haul their morning meal catchings back to the site.

Jaken was already awake when they returned, and if he suspected anything he kept his mouth quiet. The fire was started to cook the food and Rin and Ah-Un awoke shortly afterward. Breakfast was filled with smiles and laughter, Ayame's good mood spreading to everyone. Even Sesshoumaru couldn't hide a few small hints of smiles. But after the meal was over, Ayame knew she had to return to her den. She had to find a way to deal with the situation at hand. As the heir to the pack, it was her responsibility to tell her Grandfather... even if only so he could choose another heir, if he disapproved that badly. She gathered her cape, tossing it over her shoulders as Rin watched.

"Does Ayame have to go so soon?" She pouted with a sigh. Ayame smiled and knelt beside her.

"Don't worry, Rin. I'll be back real soon. I promise." She kissed the girl's forehead and stood, only to be face to face with Sesshoumaru. She smiled. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Okay?"

He nodded. "Ayame," He murmured, and gently took her chin, bringing their lips together in a soft kiss under Rin's wide-eyed stare. Wide-eyed, but pleased. "Don't let that arrogant wolf prince of yours stand in your way. We'll be waiting for you."

Ayame cleared her throat, blushing as she nodded. "Yes, Sesshomaru-sama." She sighed, trying to hide her smile. She turned to leave, but Sesshoumaru caught her wrist before she could speed off. "Eh? Sessh-?"

"One more thing." She blinked at him in confusion as he approached her and brushed her hair from her shoulder, making her shiver and blush again. He nuzzled her neck for a second before biting down on her flesh, just enough to make a mark. Ayame let out a small yelp at the unexpected moment of pain, but it quickly went away. As Sesshoumaru pulled back, she regarded him with wide eyes.

"Now," He breathed, and placed a kiss to her lips. "Now... you are _my_ mate."


	15. Discovered

Ayame's eyes widened with her smile as she nodded and finally headed home. _His_ mate. Sesshoumaru's. She loved the sound of that.

She should knew that her good mood would inevitably fade at some point when she returned home, but she didn't expect it to be directly upon her arrival. She wasn't too far off from the den when she caught his scent, and his lackey's scents too. Kouga, Ginta, and Hakkaku. She growled slightly under her breath, tossing her loose auburn strands over her shoulder as she continued on with a determined gait toward her home. Finally, Kouga popped out from the bushes, Ginta and Hakkaku right behind him.

"Well, well. Welcome home, Ayame. Where have you been?" He asked, crossing his arms. Before she could answer, he held up a hand. "No, wait... nevermind, that's obvious. You smell like that disgusting dog again."

"Oh, put a rock in it, will you, Kouga? Now if you don't mind, I have to speak with my Grandfather." She frowned and moved to push past him.

"Pfft! I'll say you do!" He sneered, moving into her path. "You've got some real problems, don't you Ayame? Chasing after dogs. The hell's wrong with you?"

"Oh? You're one to talk, aren't you?" Ayame growled back, her tone rising in anger. "_I've_ got problems?! At least who I'm going after is closer to our own species than a damned HUMAN!" Kouga's eyes widened at her heightened anger as she pushed him hard. Ginta and Hakkaku caught him, surprised as well. None of them had ever seen her act like this. And she continued.

"I have problems, huh Kouga? Because I've fallen for a dog. YOU fell for a HUMAN, Kouga! I don't care if she's a miko! I don't care if she was a princess or an empress or whatever, she is human. And - oh, would you like to know where my 'problems' came from? Would you? Oh, I bet you already know, don't you? You've realized by now that _you're_ the cause of my so-called problem, Kouga! If I hadn't had to chase after you when I came back from the mountain, maybe I wouldn't have had a problem when you finally came around trying to be my mate. Maybe if you'd handled it responsibly by coming and telling me or Grandfather that you weren't ready just yet because there was something you had to take care of first instead of trying to push me away by infatuating yourself with some random girl, maybe I wouldn't have a problem like this. But you did. So now you can deal with the consequences that you wrought out upon yourself, Kouga. I am done with you."

She took a deep breath, glaring at him a moment as the three brown wolves stood staring at her in utter shock. She finally made to pass by them but only got a few extra paces in before she felt Kouga's hand on her wrist. She forced herself to calm down a bit before turning to face him. He'd sent Ginta and Hakkaku away. "What is it that you want now, Kouga?" She asked, glaring into his soft blue eyes.

"Ayame, look. I'm sorry for what I did, I really am. But I couldn't have you following me while I was going after Naraku. It was way too dangerous. I didn't want to put you in that danger."

"Oh, but putting Kagome in such danger was fine?"

Kouga growled. "Leave her out of this! She's with the mutt. I'm done with her."

"Ohhh, so I had to wait until you were done with her?"

"Ayame, knock it off!" He barked, his grip on her wrist tightening. She flinched slightly, but didn't avert her gaze.

"Kouga, you knock it off. I don't care what you have to say now. Your attempts are all in vain. I have a mate." Her expression was stoic as he released her hand in shock.

"...N...No way. You.. didn't... with that dog?!" He gaped, his eyes wide. But Ayame had nothing more to say to him. She turned her back to continue to her den, leaving Kouga staring after her.

She arrived not much later at her den where the ears of numerous white wolves perked at the sight of her. Many hurried to greet her, happy to see her back as always. She knew they could smell Sesshoumaru on her, but was thankful that none of them said anything about it. She looked up and met eyes with her Grandfather. The wolves parted to allow him to see Ayame, and he sent them away with a nod of his head.

"Grandfather... I need to speak with you." Ayame managed after a moment. Her

Grandfather nodded and led her away from the den.

They walked for a good few minutes. She supposed that he could also smell Sesshoumaru and had done this as a favor, to give her time to collect her thoughts if she hadn't already. She was grateful for the extra time to think it over. It wasn't going to be easy, by any means. She blinked when they finally arrived at a clearing after walking quite a distance. She'd lost track of how long they'd been walking, and nearly bumped into her elder as he stopped in front of her. She cleared her throat and sat beside him as he lay in the grass. Looking up for the first time, she realized they were in the middle of a beautiful meadow that she hadn't ever really been to before. She would have to pay attention on the way home so she'd be able to find her way back sometime.

It was deep in the forest.. that much she knew because although she'd lost track of the amount of time they'd walked for, she knew they had been walking quite a long time. And the area they were in was surrounded by trees. The sun shone down on the little hallow from its midpoint in the sky, casting its rays over bright yellow daffodils, white daisies, buttercups, white wisps of baby's breath, lillies and irises... so many beautiful flowers all together in one spot, ones she hadn't ever thought could all grow together in one place. And together, their fragrance was calming, an almost intoxicating scent. She lay on her stomach beside her Grandfather in the jade blades of grass, resting her chin on her arms. Now she was nervous. She took a deep breath, flinching when her Grandfather said her name.

"Alright now, Ayame. I know you have a lot on your mind. I'm assuming by your quiet state and your expression that things have not gotten any better for your situation since we last spoke."

She gulped and flinched again, slowly shaking her head. "No, Grandfather. In fact.. it's gotten worse. Er, well.. worse... for you, maybe, but..." She stopped and bit her lip, not really sure how she should break the news... She peeked over at her Grandfather, who was peering right back at her. She noticed his little black nose moving ever so slightly as a breeze drifted through the meadow, but she knew he wasn't taking in the aroma of the flowers.

"Ayame..." She lowered her eyes and bit her lips as she heard the finality in his voice. He

took in a big breath, letting it out in a deep sigh. "You mated... with a dog."

She closed her eyes, turning her face away. Of course he'd know. Silence ensued for another few moments. She wanted to break the silence but she didn't know what to say... Finally, he spoke again on another sigh.

"Well.. I suppose it's... not so bad, that your mate is Lord Sesshoumaru-sama. It is a very interesting turn. Wolf princess mates with dog lord..." He sighed. Clearly, he was as lost about what to make of the situation as she was. "And no word from Kouga?"

Ayame looked to she sky, biting the inside of her cheek. "Aahm... well... kind of, but... after that last word, I may not be hearing too many more for quite some time..." She laughed nervously, scratching her head. He looked over to her again.

"More unpleasantries?"

"Uh, yeah, you could put it that way..." Her Grandfather shook his head and sat up.

"Well, Ayame.. the only thing I can do now is accept your desicion. So, then... the great Sesshoumaru will come to live with our pack. How very interesting."

Ayame's eyebrows came together in a slight bout of concern. Sesshoumaru... come to live with the pack? Not that she wouldn't want him to, but... he tended to wander. Kind of a lot. She frowned slightly, looking off to one side. Didn't he have his own lands to take care of? She sincerely doubted that residing with their pack in their den was a good idea. But she couldn't leave her pack! She could feel her Grandfather's narrowed eyes on her as she sat pensive, trying to think of a solution to this problem.


	16. Allies

The news of Ayame's mate spread quickly within the pack. Everyone was told to be on their absolute best behavior if Lord Sesshoumaru should stop by, and that he was to be treated with as much respect as they would treat anyone else Ayame had decided to mate with. Some were visibly upset by the mix of species, but all did as they were told. But another few days passed with Ayame sitting pensive in the den and noone saw any sign of Sesshoumaru or Kouga come to visit.. though noone really expected Kouga to come around anytime soon as word of the princess's loss of temper with him had spread just as quickly.

Some of the pack was beginning to grow upset again. Having found a mate she was finally happy with, they hadn't expected to see her so quiet again. She did eat, and she didn't seem as blue as before, but somehow it was still unnerving to them. However this time, Ayame took notice before it could weigh on their minds to bring it up to her Grandfather again. She felt she'd troubled him enough for a lifetime in the past couple of weeks alone. Rising from her comfortable ball position at the back of the den, she raked her fingers through her loose lockes and emerged into the morning sunshine with a bright smile. She could feel the calm her smile alone brought to her pack.

She took in a deep breath, closing her eyes. Her favorite season was approaching. Autumn. There was a beautiful crispness to the morning breeze that made her smile widen effortlessly. "I'm going to bathe," She announced to anyone who could hear in a casual tone. Just as a courtesy to let them know where she'd be. "If anyone needs to find me, you know how." She nodded in response to the nods that were given to her in acknowledgement and took off toward the spring. What she'd mainly meant by 'If anyone needs to find me, you know how,' was 'I probably won't stay there, so track me if I'm needed.' She knew they'd understood.

She sighed, reaching the cozy little spring. She did intend to bathe first, but she really wanted to talk to Sesshoumaru. For one, it had been days since she'd seen him last. She missed him, and Rin. Also, since she'd returned and declared Sesshoumaru as her mate, the pack had been a bit anxious to see him... and they haven't yet. Some were beginning to doubt he'd be a very good mate for her if he couldn't even show himself within the pack. Ayame knew better and had defended him best she could, but she knew they were right. They did need to see him.

She sighed again, taking in an extra deep breath. Autumn was already in the air. The leaves hadn't begun to change just yet, but it held that natural scent. She closed her eyes for a moment, resting against a rock. The chilly breeze made her shiver slightly, and her eyes shot open as she felt a warm pair of arms.. and a body... shielding her from the chill. She would have been relieved had she looked down to see a pair of pale arms around her.. but the arms holding her were tan. Her nose twitched and she turned her head to look into a pair of saddened blue eyes.

"Kouga." She growled slightly. "Just what do you think you're-"

"Please.. just let me speak." He pleaded, his eyes begging. Ayame's face was set in a scowl, but his tone had piqued her interest. Was Kouga actually really... begging? She sighed and closed her eyes in silent agreement to listen.

Kouga cleared his throat and turned his head from her. "Ayame, I wanted to apologize. Really, sincerely apologize to you. You were right in what you said. I... I shouldn't have done what I did to you. I shouldn't have forced you away like that. I did it to protect you, but all I did was hurt you beyond anything I'd ever imagined. And for that, I'm really, really sorry." He paused. Probably waiting for her to answer, but she didn't know what to say just yet, taking it all in. She could tell by his tone that his apology was sincere as he said. It kind of hurt a little, but she knew her choice was irreversable now. She shivered again and felt Kouga's arms tighten around her in an effort to keep her warm.

After a moment, he continued. "Look... I know that... you can get real stubborn. And so can I," he added quickly as he felt her tense for a remark to that. "So I know that as much as I hate to admit defeat, there's no talking you out of mating with the dog."

She cleared her throat ever so slightly, deciding that maybe now wasn't the best time to tell him that she already had... But she could feel that there was something he was really trying to say. She took a deep breath and turned to look into his eyes again. All was quiet a moment before she asked in a small voice... smaller than she'd meant, but it seemed to be all she could muster at the moment. "Kouga... um, is... something wrong? Or.. what are you getting at?" She bit her lip, hoping it didn't sound too harsh.

He lowered his eyes, meeting her gaze. "Ayame, what I'm trying to say is... Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately.. about how things were before you went up to the mountain, and the promise and everything. And I realized that I had wanted you for a mate all those years ago, and yes, I still do, but.. since that option's gone... I was hoping we could at least still be friends. I'll understand if you say no... I've been nothing but a jerk to you for.. too long now."

Ayame blinked. She hadn't seen _that_ one coming! But still... when she thought back on those days as well, she realized that one of the things that had hurt her the most, besides Kouga backing out on their engagement, had been the fact that she hadn't been able to spend _any_ time with him at all, nothing like they used to be. So close, as pups... and it had turned into this. She frowned slightly and snuggled into his arms, her gaze lost in the ripples around them, sparkling as they caught faint glimpses of the rising sun. She had missed him a lot. Even if he had been hoping to mate with her as badly as he claimed, she hoped there would be someone for him. But friends.. she knew that her heart had been mended enough that she could manage to at least grant him that.

She nodded, a small smile curving her lips. "Alright, Kouga. We can do that much. Maybe we can even pick up where we left off sometime. Uh.. before the rainbow." She chuckled, and felt him laugh, too. Then her eyes brightened. "Oh! And you know what else?" She asked, suddenly very enthusiastic. Her change in mood make Kouga smile. That was something she hadn't seen for a very long time.

"What else?" He asked, laughing with her.

"I'm thinking... before the whole Moon Rainbow thing, I'd looked up to you a lot.. kind of like my older brother or something. Maybe.. we could still be like that. And our packs have always been pretty close, aside from the other packs. We could have like... a great alliance with our packs. We could even travel together! That'd be really great, like strength in numbers, and-" She was silenced by Kouga's finger on her lips.

"Calm down." He laughed. "You're way too hyper for first thing in the morning. You've hardly changed." He sighed, shaking his head. Her reprimanding look made him revise that. "No.. you're right. You actually have changed, a lot. You're all grown up now. Down from the mountains."

Ayame nodded proudly, but then she smirked, suddenly mischevious. "Yep! All grown up... but it doesn't mean we can't still act like pups." She chuckled evilly, and suddenly splashed Kouga in the face, swimming to the other side of the spring as he spluttered in surprise and wiped his eyes to see where to splash out his revenge.


	17. News

After a few very relaxing and refreshing hours of playing and talking with Kouga, Ayame felt almost as good as the morning after... "Eh heh.." Ayame smirked to herself, blushing brightly as she thought about _that_ night. She cleared her throat and craned her neck to check the position of the sun in the sky. A little past midday.. Sesshoumaru would be looking for a place to set Rin down for the night in a few more hours. She'd been looking for them for a while now. They'd moved from the spot they'd camped out in last.

She sighed and tensed her muscles before crouching and springing high into the air, landing on the branch of a tree. She climbed her way to the top, hoping the canopy of the forest wouldn't obscure her view too much. At least if she could get even the faintest idea of where Sesshoumaru was, she'd be able to find them faster. She scanned the area slowly and suddenly did a double-take, her eyes wide. _That_ was not what she'd expected to see! Certainly she knew their group wandered just as often as Sesshoumaru, but it had been a long time since she'd seen them. A small smile actually curved her lips, even at Kagome. She didn't have so much of a problem with her anymore. And she was already in good spirits... why not?

Ayame grinned and quickly hopped her way back down through the branches, breaking into a steady run nearly seconds before her feet even touched the ground. It wasn't hard to work her speed up to that little whirlwind they tended to create when they ran. She did it on purpose. Sure, she was alright with Kagome now, but it would still probably take some time to fully like her a lot.. and besides.. it _would_ be funny to see their faces when they expected Kouga to approach and found her instead!

Getting closer, she could see that they looked the tiniest bit worn out. They'd probably been walking for days already. She knew she was nearly visible to them now, and saw a few pairs of eyes widen. A few feet in front of them, she finally stopped and stood with a hand on her hip, her eyes sparkling brightly and a grin on her face.

"Ayame!" Kagome breathed in surprise.. and relief. Ayame couldn't help laughing at her reaction.

"Heya, troup! It's been a while. How is everyone?" She winked.

Everyone blinked at her. She sighed. Just because she hardly ever talked to them, were they really THAT surprised?!

"A.. Ayame-chan.. you've taken your hair down." Sango noted. Ayame couldn't help blushing slightly as she smirked.

"Aa.. well, actually, Rin-chan took it down,"

"Rin??" Kagome interrupted, her eyes wide as she looked back to Ayame. "You've seen Sesshoumaru?" She continued as the rest of them cast her inquisitive glances. She could feel her face steadily rouging, and she cleared her throat.

"Umm.. yeah.." Was all she could manage, almost afraid to continue. She knew Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were half brothers, and she wasn't sure what the group's reaction would be if she let slip that she and Sesshoumaru were.. mates..

But luckily, she didn't have to be the one to divulge that information. She noticed the group's eyes widen but mistook it for her response to Kagome's question. Then she felt his hand on her shoulder, and her eyes widened as well, her heart skipping a beat. She quickly looked over and found him looking down at her. Their eyes met and she could feel her cheeks color all over again. "S-Sesshoumaru-sama!"

He blinked at her. "Ayame. You do not need to refer to this Sesshoumaru with such a title anymore." Ayame cleared her throat and nodded, her heart dancing in her chest as Sesshoumaru held her close with an arm around her shoulder. She looked back to Kagome and found the little group staring at them in utter shock.

Inuyasha finally shook his head, his surprise clouding over with the realization that his brother had come across his path again. "Okay, Sesshoumaru. What is it you want this time, you jerk?" He frowned, watching him closely.

Sesshoumaru merely blinked at Inuyasha, his expression ever calm. "Hm. Foolish mutt. You think I would come anywhere near you unless I had a good reason? This doesn't even concern you in the least. I came for my mate."

Ayame swallowed and stood still. Just like that? Just.. out with it? Here, she'd been nervous to say anything about it and Sesshoumaru could just say it so easily. It was... a relief! She took a deep, proud breath and smiled a bit, beside herself.

"YOUR _MATE_?!" Was the incredulous cry of the group before them, all staring with their jaws dropped to their chests.

"PSSH! Sesshoumaru, you gotta be kidding! A _wolf_?? For your-"

"Watch it, Inuyasha!" Sesshoumaru suddenly snarled, cutting him off before he could say more. "At least my woman is a youkai. You and your human fetish... this Sesshoumaru will never understand.." He shook his head even as Kagome fumed silently.

Ayame flinched a little, noticing the severe expression on the girl's face. She really wasn't so bad... She peeked up at Sesshoumaru. "Aa, Sesshoumaru, please don't say such things about Kagome-chan.." She blushed again as Sesshoumaru looked down to her, an eyebrow raised.

"You are friends with the human girl?" He asked. Ayame saw Kagome's surprised expression from the corner of her eye, but if she wanted everyone to get along... well... she could see no other way around it.

"Uh.. Yeah! Of course!" She grinned, and dashed to the girl's side, draping an arm over her shoulders as Kagome chuckled nervously in response. Ayame smiled, biting her lip to keep from laughing aloud. She'd probably traumatized their little gang in these past few minutes...

Kagome's expression was priceless. Ayame grinned over at the miko as the girl uttered a quiet, "Thanks, Ayame-chan.."

Ayame nodded, chuckling. "No problem." She then cast her gaze back to Sesshoumaru, who was watching her. She smiled, waving to the group as she headed back toward her mate. "Well, it was great seeing you guys again. I hope we'll meet up again soon! Bye, Kagome-chan!" She winked, and paused by Sesshoumaru's side, smiling up at him. Even though it wasn't on his lips, she could tell by his eyes that he was smiling in a way. He wrapped his arm around her waist, nodding to Kagome and Inuyasha's group before leading her away. It was such a relief to finally be at his side again. She closed her eyes, leaning into him with her arms around his waist as they walked. So comfortable...

"This Sesshoumaru missed you, Princess." Ayame blinked up at him as he finally spoke. Glancing around, she realized that they were alone in the forest. And before she could respond, he took her chin in his gentle fingers and placed a soft kiss to her lips, sending shivers down her spine.

"I missed you too, Sesshoumaru." She blushed, licking her lips. The warmth of his body was inviting and she stepped closer to him, into his embrace. He held her close for a moment and the two stood in silence. It was nice. She liked it. But she knew Sesshoumaru probably wanted to get back to wherever he'd chosen to camp this time. And she knew that the both of them wanted to see Rin. She lifted her head and was about to speak when Sesshoumaru suddenly lifted her into his arms, racing through the trees with her.

"Aa?? S-Sessh!" She exclaimed in surprise, though she was also trying not to laugh. It was extremely unexpected, but at the same time.. sort of cute. She held tightly to him, though she knew he wouldn't let her fall.


	18. Need

As he ran with her through the woods, she couldn't help but wonder just where they were going. She'd expected that he would have found a campsite for Rin already, and she didn't think he'd have wandered off too far, even though there was still plenty of daylight time left. She looked up to his face. He was focusing on the path ahead of them and she couldn't read his expression. Why had he wandered so far from the site in the first place? Had he been looking for her as well? Maybe. But all that aside, she needed to talk to him. She cleared her throat and rose her chin, smiling when it caught his attention.

"Naa, Sessh.. I .. we have to talk about something." Ayame bit her lip as he came to a stop before she had even finished her sentence. By his reaction, she thought he must be assuming this "talk" wouldn't be a good thing. Well.. not so much 'not good' as just a pain, she thought. She smiled as he set her down, touching his cheek to assure him nothing was wrong. He sighed and pulled her close to him as he had earlier, smoothing her hair along her back.

"What is it, Ayame?" He asked. Ayame smiled. He didn't sound worried. Good. She sighed and tilted her head to look up at him. The slight pout on her lips was one of concern, her auburn brows furrowed ever so slightly.

"Well.. when I was talking to my Grandfather about us... it's just, he said something that concerned me. He assumed you'd be coming to live with us at the den..." She sighed, shaking her head. "I didn't say anything, but.. it's just that, I know you wander a lot.. I had a feeling you wouldn't exactly be willing to do that.." She said slowly, making sure she found the right words before she said them.

He was quiet for a moment, playing with her hair as he thought it over with a deep sigh. "This Sesshoumaru supposes your pack would be... too proud, I guess the term would be - to move from the den?"

Ayame gave a silent nod in response. This was what she'd expected. And she was certain there was no way to change his mind, either. It was the whole reason she'd known it needed to be addressed. What were they going to do about this situation?

"Oh, yeah! There is one request I have, though.." She blinked up at him, suddenly remembering. "I do need you to come and at least meet the pack sometime. They need to see you... even if..." Ayame bit her lip. She wasn't sure she wanted to say that just yet. There was one way she knew for certain that she and Sesshoumaru would be able to be happy together no matter where they went, whether the pack traveled with them or not. But she wasn't sure how that would fly with the pack. She wasn't sure she was ready to take this measure. If there were some way around it, she wanted to be sure she could find it. If not...

She blinked back up at Sesshoumaru as she felt his hand on her cheek. But her eyes grew wide at his next words.

"Don't even think it. We will think of something, Ayame. I know how you feel about

your pack. I will not force you to resign and separate from them."

How could he have known her exact thoughts? She gasped before a smile crossed her lips and she hugged him tightly. "Sesshoumaru..." She felt her heart fluttering in her chest, felt the pride swelling within her. Her mate was this wonderful? It was too good to be true. "I love you." She whispered, nuzzling her cheek against his shoulder. How had she gotten this lucky?

Sesshoumaru kissed the forhead of the woman in his arms. The woman he would spend the rest of his days with.. his mate. Having her with him like this, it was hard to think of the time he'd been considering that he might never take a mate, never have a mother for Rin.. and out of nowhere, the perfect mate had appeared. He smiled ever so slightly down at her, placing little kisses to her cheeks. His mate. His wife. He didn't know how he'd come across such good fortune, but he was very grateful.

He passed his tongue over his dry lips before placing a finger beneath Ayame's chin, tilting her face up to place his lips to hers. "This Sesshoumaru loves you too, Ayame." He looked into her eyes a moment before pulling her into a deeper kiss, his arms wrapped around her waist to hold her body close to his. A corner of his lips tugged upward as he felt her melt against him and heard the moan in her throat as he held her. The muscles in his body tensed a bit at her reaction, his mind racing. Not again.. he wanted her again.. it felt like it had been weeks since he'd had her that first time. It had only been days... but he couldn't fight it. Would she always be so damned irresistable?

He let out a low growl and pushed her back against a tree with little force, kissing her with a heightened passion. He heard her moan in approval and was instantly reminded of his favorite little thing.. how he could get those lovely little sounds out of her with mere touches. He bent his lips to her neck, smirking in satisfaction as she pressed her body against his with another soft mewling of pleasure.

Ayame let her head fall back against the trunk of the tree. She hadn't forgotten their first time, only days ago. How could she? She sighed, her chest heaving slightly as she watched her new husband's hands roam her body. She placed her arms around his neck, sighing as he moved closer to her in response. Her back was pressed against the tree. And her front was pressed against her lover. She licked her lips, whispering his name as she bent her head to find his lips once more. He met her lips, a low rumble sounding in the back of his throat. She sighed into the kiss, smiling to herself. How could Kouga have ever said dogs smelled bad? She loved his scent more than anything..

Sesshoumaru pressed himself hard against Ayame as his hand traveled up along her side. He sighed as she pushed back against him in response to his body so close to hers. There could be no way around it. He wanted her so badly he was aching, and she wanted him just as badly. And her leg slipping up around his hip certainly didn't help any. She whimpered as he took hold of her leg, pulling it around him. She wanted him so badly she thought she might cry. She gripped the white cloth of his top and leaned forward, placing little nibbles along his jaw and his neck. She grinned at his body's response and let her hands slip down to the blue and yellow sash around his hips.

His hands met hers, fumbling to untie his sash. Leaving it to him, she instead let her hands slide up his body to slip off his top. But suddenly, he stopped her. She blinked at him in confusion. He let a tiny smile curve his lips as he placed a kiss to her forehead. "No.. there is something this Sesshoumaru wishes to show you, Ayame. We cannot stay here too long."

Ayame pouted slightly, pursing her lips as she let her fingertips catch a few silver strands of his silken tresses. "But.. long enough... right?" She breathed against his lips, kissing him softly. The only response she needed was given then as Sesshoumaru pressed his lips firmly against her own, returning her soft kiss. She felt his sash slip away between them and heard the fabric fall to the grass. He ran a hand along her thigh that caused her to moan beside herself.

Sesshoumaru sighed into the crook of her neck as his name slipped from Ayame's petal pink lips in a husky whisper. He couldn't wait much longer. He guided himself inside her, a groan escaping him as she moaned in his ear. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as she held tightly to him, her arms behind his neck. It was obvious she was far more comfortable already from the first time they'd done this. He sighed as she nibbled on his ear, whispering to him as he rocked her against the tree. It drove him mad with pleasure.. her soft lips brushing against his ear, her breath on his neck and the sounds of her moans ringing in his ears as he drove them both closer to a pique of ecstacy.


	19. Estate

It was nearing sunset when the two finally made their way through the forest, hand in hand. Ayame had assumed they'd be returning to a campsite but that was becoming less and less likely to her as they continued on for quite a while. Just as she was about to ask for the fifth time where exactly they were headed, Sesshoumaru stopped and turned to her.

"Here we are. This is what I've wanted to show you. We are in this Sesshoumaru's lands, Ayame." Ayame blinked. His lands... did they have to be so far away from home? Still, she nodded with a heavy sigh and he saw the concern in her eyes. He took her hand again and began to lead her from the protection of the trees. "Come. We will find a solution together."

She certainly couldn't argue with that. As long as they found a solution, she would be happy. And even if they didn't... well, she would do what she had to, and live with the consequences. With a deep breath, she stepped with him from the trees and gasped loudly in surprise. "Oh!! My... Sesshoumaru! _This_?! This is .. your.."

"Yes. My home." He watched her, a small smirk on his lips at her reaction. The wolves didn't care about castles or anything like that. They were humble, happy with their dens and their structure. But he was Lord of the West lands, and with so much more to look after, the structure helped make his position known and revered. Of course, it had not been completely his idea, but he had learned to like it all the same. And now that his wife was stricken into a state of paralysis, he lifted her into his arms again to carry her toward his castle.

Ayame's mind was _reeling_. She'd never seen such a thing!! Even having seen a couple of Naraku's fortresses, she had never seen anything like this. What did he do with all the space? Who needed that much space?! Did he have a few packs living in there? If not... she glanced to him, her arms moving behind his neck to help keep herself up. She watched his face for a moment. If he didn't have a lot of people living in there with him.. it must be awfully lonely. Even with Rin and Jaken and Ah-Un.

He placed her down after ascending the steps to his estate and opened the large doors for her to enter. The castle was made of stone and held an almost scary look, but at the same time it somehow seemed very.. homey. Kind of comfortable.. and she was definitely curious to explore. An eyebrow arched as she thought of all the secret passageways she could get into. It would be a blast playing Hide-and-Seek with Rin in here, though she was afraid the girl would become lost and scared in such a huge place. Which reminded her.. "Ah! Rin.. where is she?"

Sesshoumaru gave a little huff of amusement as Ayame didn't even mention the home, already concerned about... their.. pup. "She is asleep in her room. Or was when I left. It is near dinnertime, perhaps we should wake her." Ayame nodded in agreement and asked him to show her around. She was very much intrigued by this place. So mysterious..

He led her up a grand staircase and to the.. second right? Ayame's jaw dropped as they reached the first landing and the stairs branched off into four other stairwells. "This.. place is incredible." She managed as he led her up the second set from the right.

"The first set there," He gestured to the stairs on the right that they hadn't taken. "Those lead to my quarters. This one leads to Rin, and Jaken's wing." They had their own wing? "And the two leftmost stairwells are for my maids and servants." At least he wasn't alone like she'd been afraid of. They reached the top landing and headed off toward the left. It wasn't long before they arrived at a large door and Sesshoumaru urged Ayame to go inside and retrieve Rin. She smiled, licking her dry lips and slipped inside the room toward a child sized futon, stacked upon another for comfort, and wispy curtains draped around it like.. beautiful webs. Rin looked like an absolute little angel sleeping amidst them. Ayame knelt down and crawled toward the futon, brushing aside a white wisp and smiling as she brushed a few strands of hair from Rin's cheek. "Rin.. it's time for dinner. Wake up."

The child yawned, stretching her little muscles out upon the futon before blinking herself awake, still sleepy. "Ayame! Rin missed you, Ayame..." The child drawled sleepily, nearly drifting back into her slumber as she limply held her arms out for the woman beside her bed. Ayame grinned and lifted Rin into her arms, standing with her and carrying her out of the room where Sesshoumaru awaited.

"Rin.. you are still tired?" He asked the sleeping bundle in her arms. At the sound of his voice, Rin perked up. "Aa?! No, Sesshoumaru-sama! Rin is awake now!" She nodded with a bright smile, and opened her chocolate hues wide to hug Ayame close. The three descended the steps and Sesshoumaru showed Ayame around most of the castle before dinner was served.

Ayame yawned, rolling over and lacing an arm over her husband's bare chest. Orange beams of sunlight peeked in through the square window and the crisp morning scent of autumn filled the air. It was beautiful. Just like her mate. And the room, of course. The pair slept on a pair of large futons, one atop the other for extra comfort, and a large soft blanket covered them. Where Rin had flowing white wisps around her futon, theirs was black. It was... well, sexy, she had to admit. She placed a few kisses to Sesshoumaru's chest and he stirred awake, turning his body toward hers.

"Sessh.. good morning." She smiled, nuzzling his neck as his arms slipped around her waist, holding her close. He kissed the top of her head. "Good morning to you as well, Ayame. This Sesshoumaru thinks today is a good day to greet your pack." Ayame blinked up at him, a smile on her lips. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru. It means a lot to me."

"I know it does." He nodded, and lifted her chin for a kiss. They shared the morning together in eachother's arms and finally descended the stairs to find Rin had already been awoken and eaten breakfast. The pair ate quickly and Sesshoumaru ordered Jaken to stay at the estate for today. They would bring Rin, of course. And Rin was enthusiastic. More enthusiastic than she probably should be, Sesshoumaru frowned, walking into a pack of wolves. He was glad she trusted Ayame so much, and he knew Ayame would never hurt Rin, but Rin had been killed by a pack of wolves before he'd revived her with his Tenseiga. That she had so much trust in Ayame to be introduced to her pack was amazing.

The three of them were set and ready to leave by late morning. It would take a long time to cross all the way from Sesshoumaru's Western lands to Ayame's den. Without Ah-Un coming along, they took turns carrying Rin along the way, which she was quite happy with. They took a few breaks along the way so Rin could stretch her legs. They found a patch of blueberries and settled for a snack before continuing along the way. By the time they reached the bottom of the mountain upon which Ayame's den was located, it was early afternoon. Sesshoumaru set Rin down on her feet and the three ascended the trail, Rin between them and each holding her hand.

Sesshoumaru and Ayame had talked of their options the previous night, and one had come to mind that she thought the pack might actually come to agree with. It might be a slim chance, but it was well worth the shot. Ayame held her breath as they neared the den. Now that they were so close, she was nervous of how everyone would react. And Sesshoumaru had informed her of Rin's previous death, so she was ready to protect Rin at the slightest movement from anyone in her pack.

"Breathe." Sesshoumaru reminded her, having heard the pause in her breathing. Truth be told, there was the slightest twinge of nervousness in the pit of his own stomach. He wouldn't ever admit it, of course, and only a small fraction of it was because he was meeting Ayame's pack. Another small fraction was not knowing how the white wolves would react to Rin. And most of it was fearing what he might do on impulse if any of them lunged for Rin. It was his natural instinct when it came to his pup. He might tear someone apart without thinking first. And that would be extremely bad for Ayame...


	20. Suggestion

The trio reached the top of the path where a few wolves were already waiting, having caught their scent coming up the path. They cast Ayame an almost questioning glance before the realization hit. And the corner of Ayame's lips curved into a smile as the wolves each took a few steps back before bowing to her mate. They knew he was Lord Sesshoumaru, and they had already been informed to treat him with the utmost respect. They held their bowed position as the three continued past them, to the area just outside the cave.

Ayame's heart rose, her chest swelling with pride as her Grandfather came out to meet them. He looked to each side of him, and the entire pack bowed down to show Sesshoumaru their respect. She glanced down to Rin, whose eyes were wide with amazement and curiousity, but she didn't speak. She knew it was Ayame's family, and she also knew that this meeting was somewhat official, so she wouldn't speak unless she was spoken to.

Sesshoumaru allowed himself the tiniest of inward sighs. Thank goodness that none of them had even eyed Rin with a hint of hunger, and he was impressed that the wolves knew their place. He nodded to the snowy flock before him. "Please rise. This Sesshoumaru thanks you for your acknowledgement." He turned his eyes to the eldest wolf as the pack rose and sat back in unison. Ayame's grandfather stepped forward, bowing his head to Sesshoumaru once again, and Sesshoumaru returned the gesture, respecting his new in-law.

"Sesshoumaru-sama. I cannot say how much of an honor and a pleasure it is to us as a pack that you have graced us with your presence. We have all been eager to meet you."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Of course. I appreciate the welcome, and it is a pleasure to meet each of you as well." A hushed murmur bristled the pack and Ayame couldn't help raising a hand to her lips in a giggle which caused a few yips to escape some of the giggling wolves as well. Sesshoumaru's head turned slowly to Ayame, an eyebrow raised in question. She grinned and leaned over to whisper in his ear, "It was the females. They're fawning over you already, especially your voice. Can't say I blame them." She giggled again, and Sesshoumaru blushed, eliciting another hushed round of yips and giggles.

Ayame's grandfather sighed and nodded over his shoulder to lead them into the cave to speak. This was the part Ayame had been somewhat dreading. Even with Sesshoumaru's suggestion, it was still difficult to think that the pack would agree.. But she sincerely hoped they would. Of course, they could always choose a new leader amongst themselves if they decided they didn't like it, because she knew she wouldn't be able to stay.She wanted to wander with Sesshoumaru and Rin, and sometimes return to the castle for a break and help Sesshoumaru rule the Western Lands. And keep him from being lonely. It was her duty now, after all.

Rin yawned, and Ayame lifted the girl into her arms as they moved to the back of the cave where she, Sesshoumaru, and her grandfather all sat, and the cradled Rin in her lap. She took a deep breath to keep herself composed as her grandfather eyed first her, then her mate. It was quiet for a moment, so she assumed the position to speak. Sesshoumaru probably had wanted her to begin... it would probably be more effective that way. Rin yawned again and she smiled, stroking the girl's hair as she spoke.

"Grandfather... I know you had mentioned Sesshoumaru-sama coming to live with the pack. I hadn't wanted to say anything at the time, but you could probably sense my hesitation, couldn't you?" She smiled warily. He'd always seemed to have an uncanny sense about her.. he probably knew her just as well as she knew herself.

Her grandfather chuckled and nodded. "Yes, I could tell you weren't particularly fond of that idea. Shall I assume, then, that you have reached a solution?"

_Oh, here we go..._ she thought, and sighed, nodding. "Yes, jii-chan. We have thought of something.." Her eyes flicked to Sesshoumaru, biting her lip. She was going to have to do this on her own, wasn't she? He caught her looking from the corner of his eye and a tiny hint of a smile curved his lips as he took her hand with reassuring support. Yep.. he was going to make her do it. Probably for the best... "Jii-chan... you know that Sesshoumaru-sama-"

"Please," Sesshoumaru interrupted suddenly. "We are family, all of us here. Especially you, Ayame. Please refer to this one simply as Sesshoumaru."

Ayame smirked, casting him an almost mischevious glance, and began again. "Well then.. jii-chan, as you know, _Sessh_-" she peeked at him, using the nickname she'd once uttered, "-is lord of the Western lands..." She paused to lick her lips as Sesshoumaru gave her hand another reassuring squeeze. "And, well.. basically, he rules them all by himself... with no one to help. So.. I was wondering - I mean, we were wondering - if the pack would highly object to moving west and serving as a sort of Royal Western Guard to help us watch over the lands... not everyone has to participate in the guard, of course, but I wouldn't want to leave anyone behind, so.."

The elderly wolf nodded to himself, mulling it over for a moment. "I'm impressed by this solution, I must say. And also I am not entirely against it."

"You aren't?!" Ayame burst, her eyes bulging as she stared at him in astonishment. How had _that_ gone so well?!

Her grandfather chuckled again. "No, I'm not. I can see this surprises you. I am old, Ayame. I haven't got many more years ahead of me. The time is drawing nearer and nearer for the day that you will be the sole leader of this pack. Before I pass on, it would please me very much to see how well you uphold the pack. I know you will do what's best for them. This is your desicion, Ayame. The pack will gladly do as you wish."

Her eyes lit up and she smiled at Sesshoumaru, who smiled right back. "But still.. I feel as though I should at least ask... I know how some of them feel about our home.. I don't think everyone will be happy with the desicion.."

"Fairness is an admirable quality in a leader, my granddaughter. Do as you feel necessary." He nodded, and stood to head outside. Sesshoumaru stood and held a hand out for Ayame, who still held a napping Rin in her arms.

"How did I do?" She grinned, taking his hand and pulling herself up.

"Wonderful." He nodded, and gave her a quick kiss. "Now it's time to face the pack again. This time, you face them as their leader. Congratulations, Ayame."

She blushed, still grinning and nodded, shifting Rin on her hip as she headed from the cave, Sesshoumaru close at her side. When they emerged, her grandfather had already rounded the pack together. She and Sesshoumaru assumed position behind him as he faced the pack.

"My family... the Tribe of the White Wolves. This marks a day that each of you has been waiting for. Today, I pass the leadership of this pack on to my granddaughter. Ayame." He glanced over his shoulder as the pack began to bark and howl their approval. Ayame blushed. It was a day all of them had known were coming.. she just wasn't ever sure what to expect when the day actually came. Her grandfather moved aside to allow her to speak, and she stepped forward, clearing her throat. The pack quieted and she glanced over her shoulder to Sesshoumaru before addressing the tribe.

"Thank you... not only for the warm initiation greeting, but for treating me with such respect during all these years prior to this moment. You are my family, and I swear to lead with the pack's best interests in mind at all times." She paused as a round of yips stirred the pack, taking a deep breath to prepare herself for the next portion. "That said... I am asking this of the pack. I don't want to force anything on anyone, so I'm asking... if you're willing to comply with me on this."


	21. Triforce

The pack was quiet, waiting. She took a deep breath. This was not going to be as easy as Grandfather thought. She was certain of it. "As you all know, Lord Sesshoumaru is my mate. Sesshoumaru governs the Western Lands. By himself. Now that leadership of the pack has been officially passed to me, I'm not about to desert the pack. But Sesshoumaru cannot neglect his lands to come reside with us. I would appreciate greatly, if you would all consider moving-" She paused as a slight murmur rose, and her face flushed. Now she was nervous. She'd known that one word would disrupt everything.. "-Uh, to the West, to aid Sesshoumaru, and myself, in ruling the Western Lands."

"How could we help, princess?" One of the females piped. "Who cares?" A male growled, not at all wary of Sesshoumaru's murderous gaze from behind Ayame that was trained on him. The male stepped forward, his muzzle wrinkled as he tried to hold back a snarl toward his new leader.

"Princess, have you lost your mind?! I can't take this anymore! I won't interject if you've decided to marry yourself off to a mutt, but I _won't_ stand to subject myself to the rule of a _dog._"

Ayame had been expecting some objections. But flat out defiance? And mockery of her husband?! _That_ she would not tolerate. She crouched low, snarling and growling loudly. "I asked for your opinion and your cooperation. If you want to offer your opinion, fine. You don't want to cooperate? Also fine. DO. NOT. INSULT. MY. HUSBAND. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" She barked, her nose twitching as she held herself back from ripping his throat out. Instantly, the entire pack was on its feet... and divided.

Most of them flocked behind their new leader. Few others stood with the ruffled male, his ears pressed back against his head as he cringed at Ayame's temper. The three standing with him did not crouch for attack, even though the group sided with Ayame was ready to defend her. The male was nudged forcefully behind the other three, and two of them bowed as the third paced behind them, keeping Ayame from his view.

"Princess, please. This is our home. It has always been our home. We can't just abandon it like this. We understand that you must rule alongside your.. mate.. but, please.. allow some of us to remain here to guard what has always been our home."

Ayame rose from her defensive stance, a small smile curving her lips. That.. was brilliant! In all her worrying, she hadn't even thought of such a thing.. the pack could divide if it needed to, and it wasn't like Sesshoumaru's lands were too far off for visits. And the wolves could always return home for breaks when they wanted. "Satoshi, that's .. that's a wonderful idea! Thank you. I do approve. Our den is a good distance from the Western lands, but it's not completely unfathomable. We don't really need many in the guard.. How many would like to join? We could even switch off and have some of you come to stay with us for a while before returning and sending the next group in to guard. Does that sound better to everyone?"

The wolf who'd opposed so strongly before began to quiet down, his breathing heavy from his outburst though he looked more collected. He cast his dark gaze to Ayame and nodded once. "Yes, princess. I would be far more comfortable with that desicion. And please, accept my apology. I know you can understand why I became so upset, but I should not have acted in such a manner." He grumbled, and stepped cautiously in front of the three wolves before him to bow before Ayame.

She sighed, nodding. "Please.. you guys don't have to bow to me all the time like that.." She chuckled, waving a hand. "But yes, Kyohiro, I will accept your apology and I do understand. I also apologize, for not having thought of the solution Satoshi has proposed just now. But this is why I asked the pack rather than telling you to just do it. I wouldn't have wanted to order it to be done and then have anyone extremely unhappy with my desicion but unable to do anything about it. So thank you, Kyohiro. Then let's see.." She place a finger to her lips, trying to decide how to best sort things.

Slowly, she moved to stand beside Kyohiro, Satoshi, and the other two wolves. "All who would like to permanently remain in the den and have nothing to do with the guard, please stand here beside Kyohiro. All who would like to permanently join the Guard and would not mind remaining at Sesshoumaru's castle for an extended period of time, please stand beside Sesshoumaru." Then she moved to stand beside her Grandfather for a third point to the triangle. "And all who would like to join the guard but return home regularly, please stand here beside my Grandfather and myself."

The pack was on its feet, fluidly scurrying in one direction or another. Most women and children stood beside Kyohiro to permanently remain at the den while a good number of men - and some women - stood beside Sesshoumaru and Ayame to join the guard. Ayame sighed, smiling at the numbers after the last wolf had chosen their place. She placed a hand on her hip and nodded, smiling at Sesshoumaru. "This will work. Thank you. Please remain where you are." That said, she crouched and leapt into the air, coming to land in the center of the three divisions.

"Now.. There is quite a large number of you remaining permanently here at the den. Since I will not be here as often to protect everyone, here is what we'll do. My Grandfather and Kyohiro will be in charge of the den. Members of the guard who have chosen to split time between the den and the castle.. I would like to ask that you guard our home as well when you're on leave. You may view it as practice, but I'm sure you'd agree that you'd rather have our tribe protected.."

The wolves beside her Grandfather nodded, and Ayame nodded back. "Alright, then. With that settled, I will remain here for the rest of the day and tonight so that this can all be arranged." She turned then. "Sesshoumaru.. would you like to stay with us as well? It will be your guard, too. And there are a good number at your side willing to remain with us at the Castle.."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Yes. This Sesshoumaru can see that would be best. And thank you all for your cooperation." A few giggles rose from the females again and Ayame couldn't help but chuckle at them. She nodded to Sesshoumaru, mouthing a "Thank you," to him as well. He nodded back, and Ayame called for all members for the Royal Guard to join her and Sesshoumaru to sort out ranks and areas of coverage. She left the rest of the pack to Kyohiro at the moment. She would speak with them soon. The Guard was going to take a little more time to sort out, though they really could afford to work on things later as well.


	22. Gone

(Months later)

Life was wonderful. Sesshoumaru and Ayame continued to travel often with Rin, Jaken, and Ah-Un, and the Royal Guard system was working very well. Kyohiro had come to accept Sesshoumaru as his superior, and Ayame continued to regularly visit the den with Rin and sometimes Sesshoumaru as well. There were new litters of pups among the tribe, and the cubs had all grown close to Rin. (Some to Jaken as well.) More wolves had joined the Guard, and everything was just flowing more perfectly than Ayame could have ever imagined.

Sesshoumaru had insisted she dress more to her title of Lady of the Western Lands, but Ayame had never been much for recognition or glamour. She continued to wear her pelts unless there was some official matter to attend, or sometimes around the castle just to appease him. The kimonos were.. well, big. And heavy. Although Sesshoumaru never failed to make her blush when she wore one. And this was one of those days.

Ayame yawned, smiling at the maid who helped her slip into layers of white, pink, and red. Her topmost layer was a beautiful black kimono with a red and pink obi. All of the kimonos had been fixed for her tail to poke through the back, which she found amusing and took full advantage of, wagging her tail often. She had good reason to wag her tail, anyway. She was very happy, and quite content.

She yawned again, making her way up the second staircase toward Rin's room. It was time for breakfast, and Sesshoumaru was off calling the Guard members to the dining room to eat. It made her smile to think of how quickly they had begun to get along. Dogs and wolves.. who'd have thought? Each member of the tribe who'd agreed to stay at the castle for extended periods had come to live with them, and they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. It made her proud. They got along well with everyone, and there had been more than enough room for all of them.

Everything was just progressing so well. Inuyasha, Kagome, and the rest of them had even stopped by at one point, which had gotten Ayame rather excited. Now that she had no reason to dislike Kagome, she was quite eager to get to know her better. And so far, things were going very well between them. Sesshoumaru and Ayame had even joined their travels a time or two. Things were still unperfect between Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha.. but with them being brothers, she doubted it ever would be. But Sesshoumaru had told her that he just mostly liked to tease his "Otoutou," his younger brother.

Ayame reached the top landing and headed for Rin's door, knocking quietly before peeking her head in. "Rin, darling? It's time for breakfast. Are you-?" She blinked. ...Where was Rin? Her jade eyes grew wide as she looked around the room. The child was nowhere to be seen. "Rin??" She asked a bit frantically, entering the room as she looked around, searching as her heart began to race in fear. Why wasn't Rin in her room? She was usually still asleep at this hour.

She turned to the window and noticed a flicker. She narrowed her eyes, making her way over to it as she realized it was some sort of scroll. A ransom note?! Her eyes widened as she read it, her heart sinking to the pit of her stomach. Her whole body trembled and she tried to call out for her husband, but she couldn't project her voice loud enough. "S..Sessh..." Was all she was able to manage before she fainted.

Everyone was gathered in the dining hall for breakfast. Few people were still missing.. Ayame and Rin among them. That unsettled the great Taiyoukai a bit. They were usually in the hall by now. Something in the back of his mind was telling him that something wasn't right. He'd been trying to ignore the little mental nagging, but it kept coming back. He stood, excusing himself from the table, urging everyone to continue eating as he made his way to the grand staircase and up the second one toward Rin's room.

"Ayame? Rin?" He called out softly. The door was open and he slipped inside the quiet room. Far too quiet. His eyes widened instantly at the sight of Ayame's form upon the floor. "AYAME!" He cried out, and raced to her side, lifting her into his arms as he tapped her cheek to wake her. "Ayame? What happened, are you alright?" His brows furrowed in concern as she began to stir in his arms. Her eyes fluttered open and she sighed.

"Sessh.. Rin.. she...." She bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes as she held the note for Sesshoumaru to see, her hand shaking. The tears began to fall as she watched Sesshoumaru read the scroll.

_Sesshoumaru. I have not seen you for quite some time. Your brother continues to be a nuisance to me, and I'm certain you would be able to help rid me of the aggravation he and his little friends continue to bring me. And so I thought, perhaps, an exchange could be in order. You agree to aid me, and I'll agree to return your human pup safely._

_What say you of that? I'm sure you'll be able to locate me and my new fortress. "Rin" is waiting._

_-Naraku_

"...Naraku.." Sesshoumaru growled, crumpling the note as his eyes flashed red, his hairs standing on end for a moment as he fought to calm his breathing. How. Dare. He. Touch. Rin.

He would pay.

(Later)

"Ayame-chan!!" The redheaded wolf turned at the familiar voice calling her name, relief washing through her even though the tears fell afresh. "Kagome!" She smiled gratefully as the dark haired girl rushed to her, engulfing her in a big, comforting hug.

"Don't worry, Ayame-chan. We'll get Rin-chan back from Naraku, safe and sound!" Ayame closed her eyes, nodding with a soft smile as Sango offered words of reassurance as well. With their help, she knew all would end just fine. But she couldn't help worrying about how afraid little Rin must be in the depths of Naraku's fortress.. and the poor darling probably felt terrible, being used as bait for Sesshoumaru. She sighed and hugged Kagome tightly in return.

"Yeah, I know, Kagome.. I'm just so worried about her." Kagome sighed, shaking her head as she smoothed the wolf's lovely bright hair down her back. She could only imagine how Ayame must feel.. Rin had become as a daughter to her since she'd mated with Sesshoumaru, and they were very close. To have this happen...

"All will be fine, Ayame. I promise." She closed her eyes for a moment, opening them to look at her own love. If it had been her and Inuyasha's pup.. she would feel the same. She was very proud to see that Inuyasha was comforting (or attempting to comfort) his brother, whose eyes had been glowing a faint, dull red since before they'd arrived. She'd only seen Sesshoumaru in his demon form once, and it was something she was almost afraid to see again. He was one HUGE dog demon.

She released Ayame and gave her a soft smile before slowly crossing the room to place a hand on Inuyasha's arm. He and Miroku meant well, but their efforts to help calm Sesshoumaru didn't seem to be working too well. She smiled at them and carefully led them away to sit at the dining hall's table with Sango, Shippou, and Kirara. It seemed Ayame would have a better chance at calming him than any of them. She would leave it to the wolf demoness.

Ayame sighed as Kagome moved to retrieve her hanyou and the houshi, bringing them to the table. With the whole group sitting there and the Guard beginning to filter into the hall, she moved to Sesshoumaru's side and placed a hand atop his balled fist. His grip loosened and she sighed, looking up into his eyes with a soft smile. Slowly, he slipped his arms around her in a gentle hug.

"Do not worry, Ayame. Naraku knows better than to greatly anger this Sesshoumaru. And he will pay." He sighed again and kissed her hair, placing a hand to the small of her back as he led her to the table to join the others. Everyone was seated, waiting for them. Sesshoumaru sighed. Ayame's pack didn't have to get involved. Not that they wouldn't be helpful.. he was sure there were things they could help with, but he'd rather not risk any of the pack if it wasn't necessary. And he didn't think it was.

But he knew how stubborn they could be, and they seemed very settled and ready to take up their part in a plan. And since they'd come to live with them, he'd seen firsthand how loyal they were to those they considered their leaders. He figured it might be hard to convince them to stay. His suspicions were confirmed when he made to dismiss them and Ayame twitched as if to say something to him.. and each of the wolves sat still in their places. He knew it was no use arguing with them. They were in.


	23. Infiltration

And so they were off to play Naraku's little games. It would be unavoidable, since they'd decided not to conceal the fact that they were not there to cooperate. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha headed off their group with Kagome, Ayame, Sango, Shippou and Kirara right behind, and Miroku behind them along with the Guard consisting of two females and six males. They'd started out shortly after a brief converstation of some strategy that had already more than likely been forgotten. They couldn't truly conjure up any sort of strategy until they saw what kind of fortress Naraku had sheltered himself within this time... and even then...

Ayame sighed, closing her eyes as she walked, holding the little kitsune tightly in her arms. Shippou hugged her around her neck as he peeked over his shoulder to watch where they were going. He didn't know Rin too well, but he still felt bad.. he knew he'd be scared out of his mind if he had to be alone with Naraku without any of his close friends around to help him. He hoped it wouldn't ever happen to him.

Sango smiled gently, noticing Shippou's slightly worried look. She reached over to pat him on the head, holding Kirara in her arms. There was a worried look on her own face, and Kirara nuzzled her gently with a tiny mew. Sango sighed to herself, petting her little demon cat behind the ears as she walked on. Kohaku.. would he pop up out of nowhere again? Naraku had lost him.. now he seemed to be wandering on his own. She wished he would just stay.. he could travel with their group. No one would mind, she was sure of it...

Miroku blinked, tilting his head as he noticed Sango's dark hair had lowered a little, her head bent down slightly. He noticed everything about Sango. Even little things like this. He trotted forward a few quick paces until he was walking beside her and smiled brightly at her. "Ah, Sango-chan, I've never noticed before today how brilliantly your hair glistens in the sunlight!" He waited a beat for a reaction, but nothing. As he'd thought.. she was worried about her younger brother again. The poor woman. He sighed, his mood somber as he placed an arm on her back, speaking low so that only she could hear. "Do not worry, Sango-chan. At least he is free from Naraku's grasp. And perhaps he has his own agenda. And hopefully someday, when he is done with what he needs to do, he will return."

A smile tugged at the corner of the Taijiya's lips as she turned her head to look up at Miroku and placed an arm around him to hug him as they walked. "Thank you, Houshi-sama. I'll try to look at it that way from now on."

Kagome sighed, smiling softly to herself despite the situation. It was nice to have everyone working together like this. No fights amongst them, travelling peacefully. She could live with this, though she doubted Sesshoumaru and Ayame would always join their travels. But maybe, at least sometimes..? It would be nice if even Kouga would stop bickering with Inuyasha, and he could join the group as well. One could hope. Speaking of...

"Say, Ayame-chan," Kagome began as she inched closer to her wolf friend. She leaned close, hushing her voice for privacy, though she was certain that her own lover and Ayame's could both hear the conversation. "Have you talked to Kouga-kun lately? I haven't seen him around much.."

Ayame blinked and turned to Kagome. Kouga? "Uh.. well, no... I haven't talked to him for some time, now that you mention it.. we're on good terms, though. Hn.. I wonder how he's doing.." She smiled softly, unaware of the amber gaze peeking at her over a white-clothed shoulder. Sesshoumaru's eyebrows furrowed as he frowned at the tone in Ayame's voice.

"Hey, Sesshoumaru.. do you smell that?" Inuyasha asked quietly, turning to sniff in his older brother's direction. Sesshoumaru turned to blink at him.

"What? I smell nothing."

"Yeah? I think..." Sniff, sniff. "Yeah.. mhm... definitely smelling some jealousy on ya."

Sesshoumaru glared at his younger half sibling before refocusing on the path ahead of them. "Fool. What does this Sesshoumaru have to be jealous of? There is nothing."

"No? Not even a wolf prince who might kind of still have a little piece of your little wife's heart? I heard how she talked about him just now, and I know you did too. Come on, Sesshoumaru. You're jealous, aren't you?" Inuyasha smirked, jabbing his brother in the ribs with his elbow. Sesshoumaru heaved a heavy sigh to calm himself and said nothing. Inuyasha frowned. He never really thought he'd be joking around with his brother, and when he finally did, he got completely shot down? This would be changing. Sometime. ..Later.

He took another look over at Sesshoumaru as they continued walking and looked away. He'd also never thought he'd ever feel sympathy of any kind toward his older sibling, but.. he really did look kind of hurt. And jealous. Inuyasha scratched his head and sighed. "Hey.. I mean, really though. We both know you have nothing to be jealous about. Kouga's a friggin' wolf shit anyway. Ayame's way too good for him. You and Ayame totally deserve eachother, so.. just don't even worry about that." He huffed slightly and looked away. Sentiments were very much not his thing.

An eyebrow arched as the Taiyoukai glanced over at his otoutou. Comfort? From Inuyasha? My, my. This would have to go down in family records. He sighed and offered Inuyasha a tiny smile, reaching out with one hand to pull the mutt close, putting him in a playful headlock and mussing his hair... an action that made everyone halt in complete surprise. Everyone's jaw dropped. Only Ayame wore a bright, proud smile.

"AcK! Sesshoumaru, you jerk! Lemme go!" Inuyasha growled, swatting at the arm around his neck. He growled again when he felt the hand messing up his hair and tried to wriggle from his brother's grasp. "SESSHOUMARU!!!"

"You see? You cannot defeat this Sesshoumaru even in jest, Inuyasha." He chuckled slightly, but then he sighed and released him, patting him on the head and muttering a quick, "Thank you.." Before continuing on.

Ayame beamed to Kagome, whose jaw was still dropped in surprise, and placed the kitsune into the miko's arms before skipping ahead to link arms with her husband. She leaned up to place a peck to his cheek before resting her head upon his arm as they walked. "Hmm. Sessh, I'm so proud of you. You're opening up so much. It's a good thing." She smiled, and rubbed his arm. He sighed and leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

"We will bring Rin home safe and sound. And we will be rid of Naraku, and you, Rin, and this Sesshoumaru shall live our lives in peace from now on." Ayame smiled, nodding as she nuzzled her cheek against his arm.

"Sounds wonderful, Sessh. I can't wait until this is over." She sighed, and then blinked wide as a large estate came into view.. radiating with the murky energy of Naraku's miasma. "Naraku.." She hissed. They had arrived.

"Looks like he's extended us an invitation this time." Inuyasha frowned, glaring at the old castle.

"Of course. We have something he wants. He doesn't want to be kept waiting. And this Sesshoumaru will not keep him waiting any longer." Amber hues narrowed as he held his wife's arm close to him. The group ascended the stairs and headed into the dark castle to meet whatever Naraku had in store waiting for them.

"His places just keep getting more and more creepy!" Shippou pouted, walking beside Kirara amidst the group as they ventured into the castle. Everyone had everyone else's back, all ready and waiting for an ambush of almost any kind. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru stood at opposite ends of the group, Inuyasha with his Tetsusaiga in hand and Sesshoumaru with the Toukijin. Miroku held his staff, ready to fend off an attacker or swing, Sango had Hiraikotsu at the ready, and even Ayame had a few razor leaves in hand. She'd changed from the kimono back into her pelts for this mission.

All eyes were wide, ears open as they progressed in a tight group down the halls. Suddenly, Inuyasha turned his head, his ears perking up. "Wait, stop!" He hissed. Everyone halted their movements as Inuyasha listened. Sesshoumaru blinked. He heard it too. So did Kirara and Shippou.

"Saimyoushou!" Shippou alerted them, and sure enough a large swarm of the massive bees came flying around a corner. Ayame leapt up in a crouch, unleashing a spray of the sharp leaves and knocking a good number of the saimyoushou right from the air. Sango was next in the air, hurling her massive bone weapon to knock the rest of them dead.


	24. Games

The poisonous bees fell dead and Sango grinned at Ayame. The two high-fived, chuckling for only a moment before everyone's attention was turned to the end of the hall in the direction they had been heading.

A slow clap sounded, and everyone paused to see who it might be. One of Naraku's little baboon puppets, a kugutsu? Naraku himself? ..Kohaku?

No. None of them. And no one they could tell. A dark figure stepped forward, remaining just enough in the shadows to hide their features. All they could tell was that the voice was male when it spoke.

"Hn. I'd expect no less from you guys. But you're heading the wrong way. What you're looking for is being held in the dungeons of this place. See you there." And with that, the figure laughed, dashing past them to a door on their left, and down a stairwell.

Kagome blinked wide. "A new toy of Naraku's? But.. he sounded kind of familiar.." She frowned, looking to Inuyasha.

He frowned as well, nodding. "Hrm. But I couldn't even pick up any scent off the guy.. he's got some kind of shield around him. Naraku's. _That_ I could smell, but it's not Naraku."

"Whoever he is, he's heading for Rin. And if he touches her, so help me..." Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed a bright red color, and he nodded to Ayame. The pair was off like a flash, heading after the figure. Everyone else followed close behind.

They reached the next level and paused at the bottom of the stairs. There were no lights. Everything was pitch black.

"Sessh.." Ayame whispered, and clung to what she was certain was her lover's arm.

"There, there.." Was the reply the received, and a bumpy hand petting her head. Her eyebrows furrowed. That wasn't right at all...

"Kitsune bi!" Shippou called out, using his fox fire and turning himself into a small torch which Kagome picked up. Everyone blinked and Ayame let out a cry of surprise, releasing the purple and black robes of the monk and nearly falling back into Inuyasha, who was trying not to laugh. She frowned at him, giving a small huff before skipping to take the hand Sesshoumaru held out for her.

Miroku sighed, a smile on his face until he realized that there was a growling taijiya beside him.

"HOUSHI!!!"

SLAP.

"I bet even Naraku heard that one.." Kagome muttered.

They continued on, Kagome and Inuyasha behind Sesshoumaru and Ayame, and Sango, Miroku, and Kirara behind them. The Royal Guard had the group half surrounded, two on each side and two in the rear.

"I'm surrounded by wolves.. this feels sooo strange to me.." Inuyasha grumbled, looking down to a pair of white wolves by his side.

"Heh. Get used to it, pup." One named Mitsuri responded. "Our duty here is to aid you and protect the Lord and Lady. We're just doing our job."

"And they're doing a wonderful job, Inuyasha, so leave them alone." Kagome sighed. The Shippou torch snickered and stuck its tongue out at Inuyasha, who growled and flicked Shippou in the head.

"Oww!! Kagome!!" He whined.

"You two knock it off! This is no place for fooling around like-" She was cut off abruptly when Inuyasha suddenly tackled her to the floor. And before she could even think to ask what he was doing, she noticed that everyone else had hit the floor as well. And then out of nowhere, thick streams of flame began to shoot out from wall to wall, creating bars of fire down the rest of the hall.

"We'll have to crawl beneath it!" A wolf named Ryo called out to everyone, and he began to crawl along under the flames. Sesshoumaru and Ayame began to crawl as well, and soon everyone was crawling along.. except Kirara, who hitched a ride on Miroku's back.

When they finally reached the end of the hall, the flames died down. They now faced three rooms. And before they could even think to ask eachother which way they should go, they heard the clapping again.

Turning to their right, they saw the figure leaning against a far wall in the room. He began to laugh. "Well, well. Imagine that. Seeing all of you crawling like sad little dogs." He sighed. "Certainly doesn't befit the princess, but that couldn't be helped."

"The princess?!" Mitsuri barked, taking a protective step forward. "One who aligns themselves with Naraku has no right to address our Lady!" She growled, and lowered herself into a fighting stance. The rest of the guard followed suit.

"Tch." The figure huffed, shaking his head. "Wolves will be wolves, won't we?"

Ayame blinked, paling. "..._We_??" But the figure had already dashed down another set of stairs.

"Hurry!" Sesshoumaru growled, following the figure quickly. Everyone followed. Everyone but Ayame. The wolf princess stood there, frozen in her spot. Kagome noticed.

"Sango.. If Kirara transforms, will her fires be enough to light everyone's way?"

Sango blinked. "Er.. yes, I think it should be.." "Could you do that please? I'll be right with you guys..." The taijiya opened her mouth to protest, but caught a glimpse of the frozen wolf in the light of Shippou's torch. She nodded and leapt down the stairs, calling for her demon cat to transform.

Ayame was still frozen in place by the time Kagome returned to her. The miko took her hand, attempting to look into her wide jade hues. "Ayame? ..What's wrong?"

The princess was silent another moment before a tear finally slipped down her cheek. "Kagome," She whispered, finally turning her gaze to look at the other woman. She gulped and began to cry, moving to hug Kagome tight. "It's him, Kagome! Why?! Why would he do this? I don't understand, Kagome!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The group had paused not even halfway down the next hall when Kagome and Ayame finally caught up to them. Ayame had dried her tears, but Sesshoumaru knew she had been crying. He could smell them on her cheeks. He pulled her to him in a tight hug when she stepped to his side and kissed the top of her head.

"Ayame.. are you alright? What is wrong?" He asked, kissing her cheek.

"See, Inuyasha? Why can't you be more like that?" Kagome whispered, and Inuyasha frowned at her.

"What? You want doggy kisses? Here. How's this, huh? You want doggy kisses, Kagome?!" He teased, licking her cheek.

"EEWW! INUYASHA!" "DON'T! NOT HE-" "OSUWARII!!" "UUAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!!"

"He'll never learn.." Sango sighed, and Miroku shook his head.

"Uh.. I'm fine, Sessh.." Ayame chuckled, watching Inuyasha pluck himself up from the floor. "Really. Let's go find Rin." She placed a hand to his cheek, looking into his eyes. She smiled when he took her hand, and all began to head down the hallway again.

"This hallway looks different. Is this the dungeon?" Shippou asked. He was right.. the walls were made of stone and dirt.

Sesshoumaru sniffed the air a moment before his amber hues widened. "Rin!" Was all he said before dashing forward, Ayame close at his heels. When they reached the holding cells, Sesshoumaru stopped so abruptly that Ayame bumped into him.

"Sesshoumaru? What is it?" She asked, moving to stand beside him. An attempt that was thwarted when her husband stuck his arm out, blocking her view. But Ayame would have none of that. "Sessh!" She complained, and grabbed his arm, pulling it down.

It was just who she'd expected to see, but the name still escaped her in a painful breath, and she felt as though she might cry again. "Kouga..."

"Kouga?!" Inuyasha asked, coming up behind the couple. Yes.. it was him alright. His ebony hair had been let loose from its ponytail, but that was the only real difference in his appearance. Other than that, the most unsettling thing about him was the obvious shield that Naraku had placed around him to keep his scent and energy hidden from them.

"Tch! Took you guys long enough. Man, you're a bunch of slowpokes." He shook his head, crossing his arms as he leaned against the bars of the cell. His baby blue hues bore right into Sesshoumaru's angry pair. "Well, Sesshoumaru. Here's Naraku's end of the bargain. You ready to keep up your end?"

Sesshoumaru took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he studied the wolf prince.. whose eyes kept shifting from himself to his wife. "Did Naraku promise you Ayame when this was all over?" He asked evenly, his eyes narrowing slightly. Ayame blinked up at him with wide eyes, her lips parting as though she might say something, though she remained silent.

Kouga's lips curled into a slow grin. "For a dog, you do catch on quick."

**A/N: Sorry to have been gone so long and update so few chapters. I'll be updating faster, I promise! ~Ayame / Mello**


	25. Engage

"Kouga!" Ayame exclaimed, turning her attention to him. Her chest began to heave with anger. "After we'd called a truce and agreed to be like siblings.. you do all this?! WHY?" She barked, halted from moving forward by a gentle touch of Sesshoumaru's hand to her wrist.

Kouga sighed, shaking his head at her. "Ayame. You still don't get it? I'd have said anything at that point to make you happy. You know I want you for my mate. I refuse to accept defeat against a dog."

By this point, Inuyasha had heard more than enough. He growled, moving to stand beside his brother. "That so? Well, if you can't accept defeat at the hands of a dog.." He drew his sword, and Sesshoumaru followed suit, his face completely expressionless. "Get ready to be defeated by TWO!" He snarled, and charged Kouga who leapt out of the way of the attack. Sesshoumaru dashed forward in a flash, lashing out with the Toukijin and catching a bit of Kouga's hair as he hit the ground and ducked out of the way of the sword. He rolled backward and jumped up, pushing off of the wall with one foot and aiming for Sesshoumaru's face with the other.

But Sesshoumaru was too quick. He grabbed the wolf's foot and slammed him down to the ground with a loud thud. They glared at eachother, growling.

"Give up, foolish _prince_." Sesshoumaru snarled down at him. "Ayame is this Sesshoumaru's wife by her own choice. You had your chance. You blew it."

"I had things to take care of!"

Now it was Inuyasha's turn to growl. "Like what? Trying to pick up MY girl, you dirty wolf! Why don't you just find your own damn woman to mess around with and stop trying to take ours!!" He lunged at Kouga, Tetsusaiga ready to chop him in two. The wolf glared and rolled out of the way again, picking himself up into a crouch when suddenly, the foundation began to shake. Kouga smirked.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin cried out, the first thing she'd dared to speak since the fighting began. The ceiling started to cave in piece by piece and everyone was dodging the falling debris as Sesshoumaru sliced through the bars of the cell, taking Rin into his arms. He heard the shouting behind him as the group began to make their way back out of the dungeon and toward the entrance.

Suddenly, a large tentacle plunged through the roof. And another.

"Naraku!" Kagome gasped, and grabbed Shippou out of the way of the searching tentacles. Sesshoumaru growled and moved forward to attack one when something caught his eye that made him pause. Ayame, trying to help Kouga to his feet and talk sense into him. What was she doing?! She could be caught in a trap this way!

"Ayame!" He called out to her, and she turned her head to see him.. only to see a large tentacle blocking her view instead. Even Kouga's eyes widened as the tentacle suddenly wrapped around the woman before him, dragging her up through the ceiling of the castle.

"Ayame!" Kouga yelped out, and leapt up through the ceiling along with Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. Sango called to Kirara, who transformed to lift the rest of them up through the floors. They went right up through the roof as the royal guard headed back up through the halls, all meeting outside to find Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha facing off against Naraku and Kouga.

Kouga.... who looked a little disgruntled and not very happy with Naraku at the moment. Kagome noticed how he continually glared at the other from a corner of his eye, keeping an eye on Ayame who was struggling in Naraku's grasp.

Kirara landed behind Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, allowing Kagome, Sango, Shippou, Rin and Miroku to hop off before shuffling to the front line beside Inuyasha. Ayame's growling could be heard from high above them in Naraku's coils, snarling as she tried to free herself.

"Well, Sesshoumaru," Naraku began in a deep, booming voice. "I see that you have decided to disregard my offer. Perhaps now you will listen, hm? Join with me. Or I shall take your wife instead."

Kouga flinched. This wasn't what they had agreed to! "Hey! Naraku! You'd better not be changing the plan on me-"

"Silence, wolf." Was the calm reply. A corner of the prince's lip twitched as he refrained from growling at Naraku. He grit his teeth, trying to block out the cries for help coming from above. Ayame.. calling for him. Not Sesshoumaru.. _him._

"Kouga! Don't let him do this, Kouga! Rrgh, let me go, Naraku, you smelly jerk! Let me go! Kouga!!"

What had he walked into? He should have known.. Naraku couldn't be trusted. What had he been thinking? Naraku had used his anger to blind him...

Naraku frowned and squeezed his hold on Ayame, causing her to cry out in pain. Finally, she turned her jade hues up on him, glaring. She was not going to take this any longer. With a growl, she ripped her namesake from her hair, stabbing the long, sharp stem deep into Naraku's tentacle. Naraku howled in pain, releasing the troublesome princess. Two bodies moved to catch her.

Naraku came to his senses just in time to smack Sesshoumaru back a few feet with his tentacle. Kouga caught Ayame, whose eyes widened at him. "Kouga.. This isn't you. Why are you doing this? You know it's not right, Kouga. You can't ever trust Naraku..-" She gasped in pain, clutching her stomach where Naraku had gripped her. "Kouga, it hurts.." She whimpered, and meekly tightened her arm around him.

Kouga frowned, holding her close to him as he glared up at Naraku. "Hey! Naraku, you'd better shape up with the plan, or I'm calling it quits and you can deal with this yourself!" He growled out, turning to kneel and set Ayame down. He cradled her in his arms, tenderly rubbing her sore spot as Naraku gave him a quick sidelong glance before turning back to his victims.

"Ayame.. does it hurt bad?" He asked, brushing her hair from her face. The female wolf grinned beside herself, chuckling slightly. "Kouga.. you act like I'm dying. I'll be fine." She assured him, tucking a few strands of ebony hair behind his pointed ear. "I was really looking forward to having you as a brother figure, Kouga.. what is this all about?" She frowned as Kouga's eyes saddened at her words. He took her hand, holding it to his cheek.

"Ayame.. I heard what you said that time, but.. I couldn't give up! And I'm sorry it took so long for me to come to my senses, but.. I really do love you, Ayame. A lot. And I'm sorry I broke our promise. If I could do things differently, I would. ..But I can't. And I regret it. Ayame, please.."

Ayame gulped, frowning at his words which were too heartfelt to be insincere. And he was.. were those tears? "Kouga.." She sighed, pulling him to her in a hug. There could be no easy way around this, could there?

"Ayame, please stay with me.." His words tugged at her heartstrings, but she already knew her mind was made up. She opened her eyes to see Sesshoumaru fighting to get close to her, his golden hues flicking to her every now and again. Seeing her with Kouga the way they were now was breaking his heart. She could tell. And so she closed her eyes, hoping he would see as she shook her head. "Kouga. ...I can't." She felt his weight slump against her in defeat and sighed, trying to pull back. But his arms tightened around her. _No.. please, Kouga, don't do this..._ "Kouga.. let me go."

He shook his head. Her heart sank in her chest. This was not going to be good. "Ayame, if you won't stay... then I'm going to make you." _W h a t?!_ Now her eyes flared with anger. "Kouga! You can't just keep me here! I'm not a possession! I'm a person too, Kouga! And if you loved me like you claim, you'd see that. And you'd let me live my damn life in peace!" She growled and shoved at him to push him off. He growled back, gripping her wrist and pulling her to stand with him. Ayame glared defiantly back into his eyes as he moved close to glare into hers.

"You _are_ going to stay with me. And you _are_ going to be my wife, Ayame! Even if we hadn't promised, our marriage is in the best interest of both of our packs!"

"My pack is thriving beautifully. I found the best choice for my pack because _you_ couldn't make up your mind! My pack is happy, Kouga. Go make your own pack happy."

"The only way to do that is to bring you back with me. As my wife." "Oh yeah? Well then I guess it's about time you made a 'Plan B,' isn't it? Quit stalling and move on!"


	26. Success

**Author's Note: I'm sorry to do something like this so far into the story, but I just needed to throw this in. Reading the rest of the author's note beyond this sentence will contain a spoiler, so if you don't want to know, just continue on with the story and skip this note. **

**For the rest of you, what I need to say is; **I know that Sesshoumaru gets his arm back. However, at the time that I started this story I had no idea about it. Now that I do know, it's hard to do what I'd planned without tweaking it some. So please forgive me for twisting up how Sesshoumaru gets his arm back. I hope it's plausible enough for you. Again, my apologies for the AU-ness. -Ayame

Sesshoumaru's ears perked up. He was beginning to lose hope in this battle, and had frankly started to not care much. Ayame was in Kouga's arms. And it hadn't looked like that would be changing anytime soon until just a moment ago. He turned to glance in their direction and his eyes widened. They were arguing? He strained to hear what they were saying as he dodged Naraku's tentacles.

"I'm not going to 'move on.' You don't seem to understand that I need you with me, Ayame." "And you don't seem to understand that that's not your desicion. _I love Sesshoumaru,_ Kouga. I am _his_ _wife,_ and I will remain at _his _side! NOT yours! Now get out of my way!" She snarled. There could be no way around this. Kouga was stubborn as ever, and it wasn't going to change if she continued to try pleading with him. Her eyes narrowed and finally, at her last straw, Ayame lunged for him.

Kouga was more than a little surprised to see those little leaf blades flying in his direction. He just barely dodged them, a few of them grazing little scratches on his skin. His sky hues flashed in anger. There wouldn't be any 'if I can't have her, no one can' in his book. He _would_ have her! He would steal her from Sesshoumaru if he had to! ...But first, he had to calm her down. Because right at the moment, his sweet little Ayame was fighting against him with all her might, trying to return to her damned dog mate. How had his life come to this?

Ayame faked a rush on him and dashed, nearly getting past him. He grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her a little too hard back toward him. She yelped in surprise, turning to bite his hand. Kouga growled, snarling at the pain, and from behind them, a third yelp was heard. Jade eyes widened and there was a shock of auburn as Ayame's head whipped around. She knew that voice. Her lips parted in horror as she stared up at her husband in Naraku's coils.

_Damn!_ He'd been distracted when he heard Ayame yelp. And he hadn't meant to yelp out his own surprise.. that wasn't like him. He took a deep, angry breath and glared at Naraku, his eyes flashing a bright red in his anger. "Naraku. Release this Sesshoumaru at once. You have worn upon my last nerve, _hanyou_, and I will not hold back on you any longer if you insist on disrupting this Sesshoumaru's family." A corner of his lips twitched, and soon his eyes were glowing a steady red, his lips curled back in full snarl.

Well. This was amusing. Naraku couldn't help but smile. He'd never seen uptight Sesshoumaru so incredibly angry! Would this anger add to his energy when he absorbed him, he wondered? Only one way to find out, of course.. "Sesshoumaru. I have no intention of releasing you... or your family." He smirked, and chuckled as his tentacles rose Sesshoumaru to his line of vision. He spoke low, so that only the dog demon in his grasp could hear. "Hmm. Perhaps when I finish you off, I shall have your foolish brother and the pitiful wolf as well. And then I shall take the wolf princess _and_ the miko for my own brides. I'll finish what I started with the Taijiya, of course. And I've no use for the monk. Or the fox and cat demons. Or that pitiful little band of wolves you've put together. I'll just kill them all."

He grinned, laughing again. My, my! This was _really_ grating on the old dog, wasn't it? He was snarling loudly, growling, his long silvery hair standing on end and his eyes, such a bright red.. "Are you angry with me, Sesshoumaru? But nevertheless, it's how things shall be. You and your pitiful little band have been nothing but trouble to me. I will be rid of you all, here and now. Starting, Sesshoumaru, with you."

"SESSHOUMARU!!" Ayame cried out, reaching for her love as he was pulled into the coils of the many demons that comprised the hanyou Naraku. She cried out for him at the top of her lungs, not caring if she damaged her voice. And Kouga, quite stunned himself, was holding her back, trying to talk sense into her.

"Ayame! Don't be foolish! It's Naraku we're talking about, after all.. if he hurt you, I'd-" "If he hurts Sesshoumaru, I'd kill _myself_!" She shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. "No.. Kouga, let me go! I have to save him! SESSH!!"

And then.. she paused. Everyone paused. And Naraku.. did not look well. His eyes narrowed and he slowly looked down toward where his stomach should be.. where he'd absorbed Sesshoumaru. "Wh.. what-?"

And suddenly, a pained expression crossed Naraku's face. And he began to swell. Inuyasha quirked an eyebrow. "N-no way..."

Way.

Naraku let out a howl of immense pain as the giant white beast ripped out of his stomach with a roar, its sandy , curly tufts of fur swirling about its ankles and over its shoulder. Its lips were curled back in a snarl over teeth that were far more sharp than its large claws, and there were red markings beneath each of its glowing red eyes. His ears laid back against his head.

Ayame stood frozen in place, gaping in shock at the enormous three-legged beast before her eyes. "S...Sessh..-?" She whispered. She almost felt she might faint, but she couldn't take her eyes off of him. He was.. well, frightening! ...But at the same time... _beautiful_. Now she could see why he always carried that sand-colored mass of fur over his shoulder. It was a _part of him_. His mane.. Just like he held it over his right shoulder, there it was on this demon form of his, a lovely shock of sand-colored fur that started on his chest and went over his right shoulder, across his back.

_Three legs._ This was precisely the reason he hadn't used this form in so long. It was so damn hard to balance on three legs. And to fight like this? Still, he took a deep breath, though not without casting a sidelong glare down to his half-brother beside him. He uttered a low grunt-like noise, as if to say, "Yeah, you see this missing arm? Thanks for that, you little punk."

Inuyasha frowned, picking right up on the sound and glaring right back up at Sesshoumaru. "Hey! It's not exactly like you really gave me much of a choice at the time, dammit!" He barked back with a huff. Sesshoumaru.. was this battle really so important to him that he would fight in an impaired state? But he didn't _have_ to use his inu youkai form.. And .. _three legs?!_ He would fight on three legs?! Sesshoumaru...

All living masses on the battlefield were frozen, eyes glued to the monstrous white youkai. Only Naraku broke the silence, gasping and writhing as the many youkai within him struggled to rush together to patch himself. He seemed quite uncertain as to whether or not he wished to continue fighting in such a state. It was when Sesshoumaru crouched and began to rush him on three legs that Naraku finally decided that he was not up for this fight. He just barely escaped Sesshoumaru's razor teeth and slipped off into the shadows.

"Naraku, that bastard!" Inuyasha groaned, clenching his fists. "Running again, that wuss! We'll get him yet! Right, guys?" He turned to look over his shoulder and his eyes widened. "..Eh? Kagome?!"

The young miko was looking down to the shikon no tama about her neck. It was hovering off her chest, glowing brightly. She blinked at it. What in the world was it doing?! Purifying the area? No.. That wasn't it.. But then suddenly she felt a calm wash over her, and it was as though the shikon no tama itself were guiding her. She knew what it wanted. She smiled and looked up to the great beast.

"Sesshoumaru.." The gentle smile passed her lips again when he responded, looking down at her. "It's responding to you. Even though you're a youkai.. I think it was.. impressed?" The dog demon's head tilted at her, and Sesshoumaru slowly reverted back to his humanoid form. Kagome sighed and approached him. "I don't know what exactly was going through your mind.. but I could tell that you were determined.. for your family's sake. And the shikon no tama is reacting to the purity and bravery that was reflecting in your heart just now."


	27. Breaking

She closed her eyes, cupping the jewel to her breast. It glowed brightly, surrounding herself and Sesshoumaru and casting an immense glare over the area. Everyone shielded their eyes, and when they looked back...

Sesshoumaru blinked at her. Then his eyes narrowed ever so slightly, his brows furrowing in slight confusion. Slowly, he lifted his left arm and inspected it. ..It was .. _there._ Back, as if he'd never lost it in the first place.. his purple markings and all. He nodded his thanks to Kagome, and she nodded back, knowing he wasn't one for words.

Suddenly, he blinked again. "Rin!" Was all he said before rushing toward the castle again, fully intent to drop right through the roof and retrieve her that way. The group began to follow, and so did Ayame and even Kouga. The guard had headed back inside during the battle to protect and comfort Rin. Sesshoumaru leapt down through the roof, meeting them in the dungeon.

Ayame and Kouga were last in line to head back inside, and Ayame blinked when she felt the tug on her arm. Everyone else was already inside, but Kouga held her back. "Kouga, come on! Let's go get Rin and we can all go home."

"Ayame.. Please, just-"

"Kouga, really! Not again! Please, for my sake, stop this!" She finally turned to face him, tears welling in her eyes. "Alright, Kouga. I love you. Just not in the way you want me to! Can't you just be happy that you still even have a place in my heart after all this? You're lucky I haven't just gotten really mad and set people out to kill you and start a war, which I _could_ do. But I won't. Because I love you. As a brother, and a friend. I love Kagome and Inuyasha, but out of everyone, you're really the closest person to me besides Sessh, Rin, and the pack. You're the only other one who knows the real me, especially how I was when we were kids. ...You're... You're my best friend, Kouga. ...And I don't want to lose you again." She swallowed, a tear slipping down her cheek as a few escaped his first. "Kouga.."

"Ayame." He shook his head and let his tears fall, pulling her into a tight hug which she returned, petting his ebony hair along his back.

"It hurts me to see you acting like this, Kouga. And every attempt you make to win me back and gain my favours only hurts me more. It really breaks my heart, Kouga. I can't even tell you how much."

She blinked as Kouga finally pulled back, wiping first her tears, then his own. And after a silent moment, he nodded. "Alright, Ayame. I understand. And I'm sorry. And this time I'm not just saying it to make you happy. I do love you, and if what I'm doing hurts you, then.. I'll ... I'll just have to learn to adjust."

"A big, strong prince like you should be able to adjust!" She beamed proudly, giving him a playful jab to the shoulder. "And after a while, when you've had some time to mend, I'll help you find a perfect mate. Cuz there's gotta be somebody for you out there. Right? Right." She answered her own question before he could make a sound. He chuckled and she giggled at his amused expression. "Thank you, Kouga. I'm so glad. You've made me very happy just now." She nodded, placing a hand to his cheek. "Now let's go get Rin and everyone else.

"Wait a second, Ayame..." Kouga pleaded, gripping her hand gently as she made to pull away. She turned back to him again, her eyes full of question. He sighed. "Just ... I promise I'll work hard to be the kind of guy you need me to be for you, but... first... can I just... just once... the right way."

Ayame blinked as he pulled her closer, gently lifting her chin with a finger and placed his lips softly to hers. She hesitated for a moment, but decided to allow him his one kiss, and slowly kissed him back.

~*~

They were kissing. No... How could this happen? Sesshoumaru could feel his heart breaking all over again. Rin tried to turn her head to see what her Lord was watching with such a pained expression, but he kept her face turned and leapt back down into the fortress.

"Come on, everyone, let's get a move on! Geez, I'm starving! Kagome, what's for lunch?" Inuyasha yawned, stretching.

"Take your time, Otoutou. Let's just.. go this way." Sesshoumaru nearly mumbled, and began to take the stairs.

Inuyasha blinked. "Eh?? What's eating him?" He frowned, walking slowly behind the rest of the group until he was the only one lagging behind. He looked over his shoulder and then up to the hole in the roof. Sesshoumaru had insisted on taking the stairs after coming down... why?

Making sure noone was looking, Inuyasha leapt up through the roof, and actually gasped in surprise. Kouga and Ayame.. embracing?

Inuyasha blinked, staring for a moment before finally leaping down again.

"Inuyasha! There you are, you had me worried. What are you doing, still lagging back here?" Kagome asked, stepping over a pile of debris. Inuyasha cast his golden hues to her and sighed, extending an arm to pull her into a gentle hug. Kagome blinked. "Eh? Inuyasha?"

He turned his face to one side, a small frown on his lips. "I've gotten used to Ayame being around.. and I knew Sesshoumaru had lightened up a little, but.. I didn't realize how much." He looked down to find his favorite little miko blinking up at him, obviously still a bit confused. He sighed. "Sesshoumaru's allowing Ayame and Kouga to have a moment to themselves. ...I've never really seen him get emotional, so I'm not really sure how to help, but whatever happened before what I just saw had him pretty upset. And I'm betting he's not going to get over it anytime soon."

"Yeah.. now that you mention it, he didn't really seem himself just now.." Kagome agreed, peeking over her shoulder in the direction the others had gone. "Maybe we should subtly extend our stay.. just to make sure everything's alright."

Inuyasha nodded, wiggling his nose a bit. "Yeah. Ayame may be fine with being friends with Kouga, but if he makes Sesshoumaru upset after he's finally found a way to be happy..." He left the threat open.

~*~

Ayame sighed with relief when the castle she'd learned to call home finally came into view. Kouga had left just before everyone had emerged from the fortress, which was probably for the best. Sesshoumaru would have been more than a little unhappy to have witnessed that... But she had Kouga's word that he would straighten himself out and be there for her as she needed him to be. That was good enough for her.

It had begun to rain on their trek home, and Ayame shivered ever so slightly, her cape covering Rin and Sesshoumaru's large white sleeve covering her. She moved closer into his warmth and peeked up at her husband. Nothing seemed wrong outwardly, but she was certain there was a slight downward shift in his mood. Still, he made no moves to cue her that anything was wrong, so she bit back her hunch.

The castle was bustling as they returned. The guard had dashed on ahead to announce their oncoming, and the table was being set with food even as they finally arrived. Ayame smiled proudly at her pack and Sesshoumaru nodded for everyone to go on ahead and make themselves comfortable, casting a quick questioning glance to his brother as the hanyou gave him a small smile and patted his shoulder. ...What the hell was that for? Sesshoumaru was a tiny bit suspicious.

He sighed, turning to watch his wife carrying Rin up the stairs, holding the girl close as she hummed lightly. It was time for Rin to wash up before dinner. He watched her every step, and the small smile on her face. Was she smiling and humming because she was happy to be home with him and Rin, or because of what had happened with Kouga? He knew it was a terrible thing to think, but it was tugging at his heart and weighing on his mind. He had to know...

And so, when Ayame and Rin were out of his sight, he excused himself from the group saying that he would go help Ayame and Rin. He caught his brother's odd glance once again and cast him a confused expression in return. What was his brother's problem all the sudden?

He climbed the stairwells and paused outside the washroom door, listening to Ayame and Rin singing to eachother. Rin was teaching Ayame the little song she had made and always sang when Sesshoumaru left her in Jaken and Ah-Un's care.

He lowered his head, listening to their two voices. ...It was beautiful. A cold chill passed over him and he shook himself out of it, raising his head high and gathering his wits about him before knocking gently on the door.

"Ayame.. this Sesshoumaru wishes to see you a moment..."


	28. Pain

Ayame smiled, patting Rin on the head before leaving the room, closing the door behind her and pulling a string to alert a maid to finish tending to Rin. As soon as the maid arrived, Sesshoumaru led Ayame to their room with a hand to the small of her back, as he usually did. Ayame sighed, looking down at herself. She should probably wash up and change before dinner, too. She raked her fingers through her drying hair, shaking it lightly before moving to head toward her kimono cubby. She was halfway across the room when the sound of Sesshoumaru's voice made her stop right in her tracks.

"...Ayame..." ...It was all he said. But the tone of his voice... something was wrong. She'd _known_ something was wrong! Why didn't she listen to her intuition?

Immediately, she turned and rushed to him, her eyes full of worry as she placed a hand to his cheek, kissing his other cheek a few times. "Sesshoumaru, darling, what's wrong? I had the feeling something was wrong. I'm so stupid, I should have asked you! I'm sorry.." She sputtered. He sighed, looking into her eyes.

He had to ask. He needed to. "...Ayame," he finally managed, after a moment of her fussing over him. He took her hands and lowered his gaze. "I saw you. ...And Kouga. At the fortress." He peeked up at her. Her eyes were wide and she paled significantly, even for a white wolf.

"S-Sessh.. that wasn't.... You have nothing to worry about. That didn't mean anything." She smiled softly, though her heart was hurting. So he _had_ seen that. She felt terrible. She moved into his embrace, holding him tightly. He held her in return, but couldn't help the track his mind had been set on. He had never loved anyone like Ayame in his life, and he wanted her to be happy...

"...If ... if you would be happier to marry Kouga-"

"Shut up, Sessh." Ayame interrupted before he could even finish. She pulled back, giving him a sharp look. He was rather taken aback himself. She'd never spoken to him like that before. No one had. Ayame sighed. "Sesshoumaru, why don't you understand how much I love you? Yes, I did love Kouga this way once. But he ruined that. Yes, I still want to be his friend, despite that. But only his friend, I promise you that with all my heart, Sessh."

He looked at her rather flatly. Of course he believed her, but his eyes betrayed her words. "You seemed rather content..."

Ayame felt as though Sesshoumaru had just squeezed her beating heart. She stared at him a moment, silent. "...Is that what you think?" She asked quietly. "Why are you insisting that I'd rather be with him? Why, Sessh?? D-... do you... _want_ me to leave?" She asked, tears welling in her eyes again as she took a small step back. Sesshoumaru was quiet a moment before shaking his head.

"No." He managed. "No, Ayame. I don't want you to leave. But... if you would be happier with him, then I-"

"Do you want to know, Sesshoumaru? Do you want to know how I would feel if I left you to be with him and couldn't be with you anymore?" She asked, her voice wavering as the tears began to slip down her cheeks. She stepped forward again, backing him slowly against the wall until she had him pressed there, her form against his and her lips mere inches from his own as she gripped his top.

"...Do you?" She whispered, looking into his eyes. He didn't say a word. She moved forward, taking his lips in a hard kiss as a hand slipped into his hair for a moment. His expression when she pulled back was of slight pain and confusion.

Ayame left the room.

Sesshoumaru sighed. Ayame had probably gone to help Rin finish cleaning up before dinner. They would speak more of this after the meal, privately. When they had more time. He sighed again and fixed his hair, leaving the room and heading downstairs. He hadn't heard anyone in the washroom, so Ayame and Rin were probably already at the table.

He turned a corner to enter the dining room and blinked. Everyone was waiting for him. ...For him, and Ayame. _Wait.. what?_ He blinked in confusion, looking around the room once more. No... Ayame wasn't here. Where would she have gone?! He stood there in the archway, frozen in place as he scanned the room again. Again. No.. she really wasn't there. He stood there, certain that she'd probably sneak up behind him and place her arms around his waist or ask him why he was standing there. People began to stop and look at him. Ayame still hadn't come out yet.

Finally, his eyes narrowed slightly in the direction of his brother. Inuyasha caught his gaze and Sesshoumaru turned, abruptly leaving the room despite even Rin's call for him to sit and eat. A few seats moved back, standing to head after him, but Inuyasha rushed to the dining hall's archway, motioning for everyone to sit. "I'll take care of this." He nodded, and turned to see where Sesshoumaru had gone, catching a glimpse of his hair turn into a study down the hall.

He hurried to catch up to him and entered the study. "Sesshoumaru?" He asked softly. Suddenly the door closed behind him and he blinked, finding himself caged in his brother's arms against the door. "Hey, Sesshoumaru, what the fu-"

"Where did she go? You know something, don't you Inuyasha? Tell me!" He demanded. Inuyasha growled slightly.

"I came to comfort you and this is the thanks I get?!" He snapped back. Sesshoumaru glared at him another moment before letting out a sigh and releasing his brother, moving to flop into a chair. Inuyasha huffed slightly before following, sitting in the chair across from him.

"We .. had a bit of a fight." Sesshoumaru began, glancing away from his brother.

"...About Kouga?" Inuyasha asked, and Sesshoumaru looked him right in the eyes.

"Oh. So that's what you've been acting strange for. You saw them, too?"

"Yeah, I saw them!" Inuyasha frowned, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. "I should have jumped Kouga for you.. damn!"

"It's fine, Otoutou, calm down. I... I don't think... that she..."

Inuyasha watched his brother, waiting for him to finish. He blinked, noticing that his light-skinned older sibling seemed to have gotten rather pale, and his hands were shaking slightly. Inuyasha sighed and moved to kneel by Sesshoumaru's seat. "Oh you don't, do you? What happened, exactly?"

The Taiyoukai sighed. "I asked her if she'd rather be with Kouga, she told me no, and I mentioned that she looked content with him. She asked me if I wanted her to leave, I told her no, she asked me if I wanted to know how she'd feel if she were with Kouga and not me... and then she kissed me and... left?"

"None of us saw her leave, Sesshoumaru."

Now the older dog turned to look right down into Inuyasha's eyes.

"Then where is she?"

Inuyasha sighed, shaking his head. "I donno, Sesshoumaru.. maybe she just.. went for a walk or something to cool down. If we can't find her around the castle, I'm sure she'll be back soon. Alright? Don't worry so much." He took one of his brother's hands, patting it gently. Sesshoumaru looked down at his brother and gave him a small hint of a smile, then nodded.

"Alright, Inuyasha. We shall see, then." He sighed and stood, Inuyasha following suit. Sesshoumaru paused as they reached the door, his hand on the handle. "...Inuyasha?"

His ears twitched as he blinked at Sesshoumaru. There was something more? "Huh?"

"...Please don't tell anyone. You may speak with Kagome of this, but noone else is to know. Understand?"

Inuyasha sighed, but nodded. He did understand. Ayame's pack would freak out if they thought she was missing, and if Ayame just needed some time to think and be alone, she'd be pretty upset that the pack had gone to find her. "Yeah. I understand, Sesshoumaru."

"...Good." Sesshoumaru took in a deep breath and opened the door, the two of them returning to the dining hall.

Rin blinked when Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha sat, the space on the other side of her Lord empty where her "Mother" should be. "Sesshoumaru-sama..." she asked meekly. "Where is Ayame? She's going to miss dinner..."

He turned to her and gave her a pat on the head. "She will return soon, Rin." He reassured her, already feeling the eyes of the Guard on him. "She just stepped out for a walk. If she misses dinner, there will still be plenty for her to eat when she returns."

Rin nodded, seeming alright with this excuse. But the Guard exchanged a few glances, eating slowly. An action that did not go unmissed by Sesshoumaru. They weren't glances of suspicion and worry. They almost looked....

Guilty?

**A/N: I will be updating more ASAP. Don't worry, I didn't intend to be gone for so long and only give you two chapters! More coming soon. Very soon. I promise.**


	29. Numb

**A/N: Tempted To Love is coming to a close (finally lol) Just to let you all know. I'm almost done with the story, and the chapter I'm working on now I believe may be the last one (or second to last.. Either way, it's close lol) I'm only able to put up this chapter at the moment because I have to leave for something previously planned. But the last part of the story is just spilling from my fingertips, so I will be working on it again when I return home tonight. Tempted To Love should be finished by the end of this week, probably even within the next two days or so. Maybe even tonight! =D We'll see.**

**Anyway, thank you all so much for your endless patience and continued reading. I should have another chapter up before today is over. ~Ayame~**

Sesshoumaru sighed. It was dark. Far past dark, in fact. It had been hours since dinnertime, and there had been no sign of Ayame. The guard was out looking for her. They had been all night. Sesshoumaru had asked them to find her and bring her home. He hadn't been able to keep from letting them know once the minutes had begun to melt into an hour. Until Ayame was found, they were disbanded, he'd said. When the guard had bowed to him and promised him that they would remain with him as well as look for their princess, Sesshoumaru had been grateful.

He grimaced slightly as a light breeze caressed his cheek. It reminded him of his wife's touch. Where was she? It was so dark... He stood watching from the balcony of his room, his knuckles white as he gripped the railing. His chest hurt, a lot. He wanted Ayame to come home, so he could apologize and they could continue their happy lives. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear the knock at his bedchamber doors. Or the door slipping open. But it seemed only natural that this intruder wouldn't have much respect for his privacy.

"Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha spoke from behind his older sibling. Sesshoumaru blinked and turned to face his brother, blinking in surprise when the hanyou suddenly looked concerned. He watched as Inuyasha moved closer and reached up to his face. When he felt his brother's wet thumbs move across his cheeks, he blinked wide. Good Gods... he'd been _crying_? His lips parted in his surprise, and now he could feel the tears spilling from his eyes. He frowned and turned from his brother. No... no, this wasn't right. He couldn't be crying. He never cried!

He returned to his spot on the balcony, shaking his head as he tried to wipe the tears that kept flowing. Inuyasha bit his lip, a hand extended in his brother's direction. He'd never really been much of an emotional type... how could he possibly help? He'd also never ever seen Sesshoumaru cry. He doubted anyone had. His ears twitched, flattening back against his head. He couldn't remember when he'd last felt so helpless. But his ears perked up, his expression like a hopeful child when the Taiyoukai suddenly spoke.

"Inuyasha..." Inuyasha cringed slightly at the tone. It was something else that noone had ever heard from Sesshoumaru. Pain. The hanyou's lips parted to respond, but he couldn't find his voice. Silence ensued instead, and Sesshoumaru finally continued. "Please... leave this Sesshoumaru alone..."

Inuyasha's ears flattened to his head again. That kind of hurt, but he understood. Sesshoumaru needed some time. They all believed that Ayame would come back. None of them had a doubt. But as the hours ticked on by... He sighed and nodded even though he couldn't be seen, and slipped from the room.

Sesshoumaru took a deep breath around the pain in his throat, closing his eyes until he heard the click of his door. Inuyasha had left. Sesshoumaru fell to his knees and cried.

A month went by. Two. Three. Four. And Sesshoumaru was growing more and more withdrawn as the time went by. Sango and Miroku had returned to Kaede's village to help the old miko, but Kagome and Inuyasha stayed. Rin found a wonderful playmate in Shippou, but every now and again Sesshoumaru could hear the girl crying in her room for her "Mommy" to come home. It broke his heart. He continued to tell the girl that she would return. He believed with all his heart that she would. Even if not for him, certainly for Rin. She loved Rin, right?

But... she loved him too... right?

Sesshoumaru sighed softly, milling aimlessly around the gardens near his estate. The bright blossoms were comforting and it was easy to get lost in the hedges if you weren't used to them. He enjoyed coming to this spot to think. His elegant hand reached out to caress a white rose, one of the many flowers in the gardens that reminded him of his wife. Her fur.. white, like the rose... but her scent so much sweeter. He licked his lips and continued on toward the fountain in the garden's center, but taking a new turn he'd grown accustomed to. The irises. Ayame's namesake. He sat himself on a ledge amidst the irises, leaning his head lazily to one side. An iris sifted across his cheek on a breeze and he closed his eyes, nuzzling the flower. His golden hues opened to look at the lovely purple flower. September... It might be beautiful weather now, but it would be turning cold soon. Where was Ayame? It had been four months since their fight. Four long, painful, endless months.

The Taiyoukai watched the flower a moment before picking it from the stem, holding it to his lips beneath his nose. His eyes started to sting a bit as he thought of Ayame, back on how they'd met and all the times they'd shared. He missed her so much more than he'd ever thought would be possible of himself. And he'd never thought missing someone so much would hurt so bad.

He blinked as he caught a glimpse of something moving from the corner of his eye. He hadn't meant to perk up, looking more hopeful than he should. Even after four months of people approaching him and none of them ever being Ayame, he'd expected himself to get over such wishful thinking. Apparently, he hadn't. He sighed, watching his dark-haired sister-in-law heading for him.

"Sesshoumaru, lunch is ready..." She smiled gently, tucking a locke of ebony behind her ear as the breeze shifted her hair and skirt. Sesshoumaru nodded slightly, though his eyes seemed distant. She eyed the iris in his hand and bit her lip. She missed Ayame, too. They had grown to be close friends. But Kagome hadn't heard a word from her since she'd left, or she would have told Sesshoumaru even if Ayame asked her not to. He needed some kind of sign, something... anything. Just so they would know she's alright. And Kagome wanted some kind of word, herself.

She looked at Sesshoumaru again. So sad... almost broken. So very not himself. His pain was so evident, and even though he was hurting the most, everyone else could feel it too. She hated seeing her family hurting like this. She considered Ayame family too, and she was very worried. But she had to deal with what she had on her hands here. Besides, Inuyasha would never let her go off on her own to look for Ayame, and he was pretty concerned about leaving Sesshoumaru alone at the estate. Sure, he had Rin, but Kagome could understand Inuyasha's concern. And so, with a sigh, she moved to her brother-in-law's side and carefully wrapped her arms around him in a gentle hug.

"Come eat, Sesshoumaru. Rin will be upset if you don't come." She hated pulling the Rin card, but it was the only thing that seemed to work more than half the time... and even then it was still hard to convince the Taiyoukai to do some things. This time, luckily, Sesshoumaru nodded and stood.

"Yes... let's eat, then.."

Nine months. Nine long, lonely, hard months that his wife had been missing. Now it was December, and Sesshoumaru was more worried than ever. Sure, he figured the Autumn season would be alright with her fur hides, but she hadn't returned to her old den with the pack. No one knew where she was. She could be out freezing somewhere right now!

But worst of all was the fact that Kouga had gone missing too. In fact, Kouga had been missing this whole time, around the time that Ayame left. Had she really run off to be with him? His heart ripped each time he thought of it. Well... she had challenged to let him know how it would feel, hadn't she? Now he knew. But he didn't want to know anymore. He wanted her to come home, though by now it seemed she must have found Kouga to be more what she was looking for after all.

But he was starting to pull through it. His heart was just about ready to mend. He'd begun to think that she was never coming home. And if that was the case, he knew he couldn't just mope around his estate forever. And Inuyasha being so nice all the time was a bit strange, too. He wanted things to go back to the way they were, to happier times. ...Even if it might mean pretending she was never here. He could do that, right? Certainly. ...To a point. But Rin...

She didn't cry so much for Ayame anymore, but he could see it in her chocolate hues every now and again. It was subtle things in passing... times at meals when Rin would eye her "mother's" empty seat, how she would quietly sing her song during bathtime, and how she would sit up at her window every night, just gazing out across the lands, as though she were helping to look for Ayame, too.


	30. Again

Sometimes he felt angry toward Ayame, for doing this to him and then leaving like this, leaving him and especially for leaving Rin. How could she do such a thing? Wolves really _are_ heartless, aren't they? Sesshoumaru growled slightly to himself, settling upon a small bench in his room. Yes, he was having one of those grumpy days of being angry toward Ayame. He sat on the bench seat by his balcony and stared out at the light snow falling. It had been falling lightly for some time now, but he could smell that there was a lot more to be let loose. He cast his gaze upward. Yeah, the clouds were getting pretty heavy. It would be snowing hard soon. Maybe even a blizzard.

Good enough. She deserved to be stuck in a blizzard! ...No, what was he saying? He could never wish that upon her. He loved her. Even now, even still, after nine months of her being gone, he couldn't deny that he still pined for his lost wife. And what if she hadn't just run off with Kouga? What if she was in trouble somewhere? Or worse.. what if she was already... dead?

No. He refused to think of that. She was stronger than that. Sesshoumaru sighed. He'd done a lot of thinking in these past nine months, but he was feeling particularly pensive today. And now that he thought about it, he really should go out and look for her, just in case she _was_ in trouble. Gods, why hadn't he thought of that before?! But the thought that he might find her with Kouga made him cringe.

Though, come to think of it, how had the Guard managed to _not_ find her yet? Didn't they know her scent better than anyone? Weren't they born trackers? Shouldn't they have known her location no more than a week after her disappearance?

...Didn't they look ... _guilty_... that day? That very day that she'd disappeared, he could have _sworn_ they looked at eachother like something was going on behind his back. If that was the case... _one of them knows where Ayame is. _One of them knows, and hasn't said a word this whole time. Protecting the princess. _Why_?!

Suddenly angry at his new deduction, Sesshoumaru rose from his bench, nearly knocking it over as he dashed from his room and down the stairs, passing a number of startled maids. He let out an angry roar as he entered the dining hall, slamming a fist onto the stone table. "ROYAL GUARD, ASSEMBLE _NOW!!_" He bellowed, his eyes flashing a bright red as he stood at his spot by the table. It was mere moments before the Guard filtered in, scurrying with ears back and tails between their legs, like little dogs who knew they were in trouble.

_They knew!!!_

Sesshoumaru heaved an angry sigh as Inuyasha and Kagome stumbled into the room as well and quickly took the seats that had respectively become theirs at the table.

"Sesshoumaru, what's wrong?!" Inuyasha asked, leaning across the table as he stood by his seat. Sesshoumaru's glare never left the wolves, who were now cowering beneath his fiery gaze.

"One of you - or _all_ of you, have been hiding something from me."

"What?!" Kagome blinked, turning to the Guard. "Is... is that true??"

None of the white masses moved, their eyes fixed on Sesshoumaru whose chest puffed out as he took a deep breath and nearly held it, his breathing narrow with his anger. His hair began to stand on ends as he stepped right up onto the table, crossing to the wolves' section. The small band of wolves shrunk back in their seats as he approached, like children about to be punished.

"_Where... is... my... WIFE?!"_ Sesshoumaru growled out, baring his fangs as his lips curled back into a snarl. The Guard cowered, but refused to speak. Sesshoumaru's eyes began to glow brighter. "I have a right to know." He growled slowly through clenched teeth. "I have suffered these months not knowing, and this entire time I could have known something! TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!"

His roar was so loud that no one heard the bang as someone burst in through the front doors of the estate and rushed right into the dining hall. The figure cringed immediately and let out a howl to make herself known. All eyes immediately turned on her, and the little wolf stood there a moment trying to catch her breath. Sesshoumaru's anger faded and he rushed off the table.

"Mitsuri! Where have you been? Why are you in such a rush?" He frowned, signaling for a drink of water to be brought for her.

"Your... your majesty," she breathed out, taking a few steps closer. "_I've spotted them._ Ayame, and Kouga too - both headed this way with -..." She blinked and abruptly stopped, nearly biting her tongue.

Sesshoumaru arched a delicate brow. "Ayame... and Kouga? Headed this way with what?" With both of the packs? Her pack? His? With something wrong?! Mitsuri shrunk back just as the rest of the wolves were doing, refusing to speak. "With what, Mitsuri?!" He asked louder, the faint glow returning to his eyes.

"I... I cannot say..." She replied meekly, but before she could even finish, Sesshoumaru was out the door.

"Sesshoumaru!" Kagome and Inuyasha called out, jumping from their seats to take off after him. But Mitsuri shook her head, leaping into their path. "No! No, young masters. This is something my Lord must do himself... please."

"What? What do you think this is, a fairy tale?!" Inuyasha growled. "We want to see Ayame too, and I wanna pound Kouga's face in for keeping her away so long, and-"

"It's not how it seems, Inuyasha." Mitsuri begged, lowering her head.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, and he set Kagome down off his back. "Mitsuri... Tell _us_ what Ayame and Kouga are headed this way with. Tell us everything, and we'll stay here."

The white wolf looked up to them, sighed, and nodded. There was indeed something to tell.

The snow had begun to fall harder, as he'd suspected it would. He was rushing across his lands, nearly blinded by the white specks falling into his eyes and stinging his face. _Ayame was back._ It was all he could think of. Even if she was with Kouga, if he could just see her again... He needed that much from her. Just to see her after all this time. He could smell them now, as he drew closer to the forest by the edge of his estate. Yes... he could smell them both, though their scent was mingled with other wild scents and nearly muffled by the snow and cold.

He reached the trees lining his lands and tore through them, not feeling the stripped branches as he made his way toward the scent he'd missed so much. He could smell Kouga too, and something else with them. Something faint. Was this the something they were "with?" Another person?

Sesshoumaru nearly fell as he burst through the trees into a clearing. And when he looked up, the first thing he saw took his breath away and brought tears to his eyes all at the same time.

There she was. Her beautiful white furs nearly blending with the snow, her auburn hair cascading like a lovely flag in the cold winds, her jade hues piercing into his heart across the meadow. He didn't even notice Kouga by her side as he took a few cautious steps forward. He felt in a daze, like he was walking toward a mirage. His heart was pounding in his chest. She was every bit the image of beauty he remembered.. better, even. His eyes remained glued to her gaze for a moment, the both of them unable to move. He noticed her eyes travel to look him over, and he briefly allowed himself to do the same. That was when he noticed it.

Her cape was off in this cold weather. Kouga was standing too close for Sesshoumaru's comfort, his arms around Ayame to keep her warm. And in Ayame's arms... was her cape. In the form of a small bundle. A small flesh colored bundle. ...A ... baby??

Sesshoumaru felt his heart stop. Oh, Gods... a _baby_?! Her and...-?! His eyes grew wide, his lips parting in shock and horror. The wolf pair noticed his expression and each of their eyes widened.

"Sessh,-" Ayame began, but Kouga spoke up then.

"It's not what it looks like." He shook his head, his dark hair loose as well to help keep the both of them warmer.

"Oh, no?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly, his expression extremely sullen. "You mean to tell me that is not a child?" He looked Kouga in the eyes a moment, his gaze hesitantly shifting to Ayame. "...Ayame..."

"Sessh, it's really not-"

"How could you do this to me?" He interrupted, trying to swallow the lump in his throat that hadn't risen in last few months. So... it was true, then. Ayame had truly left him for Kouga... and come back to show him their child? Sesshoumaru felt his heart break as he fell to his knees, tears spilling onto his cheeks as his hands balled into fists in the snow.


	31. Home

"Sesshoumaru, really!" Kouga spoke up again, releasing Ayame to head in the Taiyoukai's direction. "It really isn't what you think, you big dope! How dense can you be-"

"KOUGA!" Ayame snapped suddenly, glaring at the wolf prince. "Don't you _dare_ say something like that to him!" Sesshoumaru could only listen as the soft pair of footprints hurried in his direction and a pair of perfect legs knelt before him, bringing the little bundle into his view. He closed his eyes as Ayame placed a hand to his shoulder. "Sessh... Darling, look at me. Please, Sessh.." She begged softly, placing her free hand to his cheek. She could feel the cold wet tearstreaks on his cheek, and she bit her lip. It hurt so badly to see him like this, knowing it was her fault. She knew it was.

She knew she shouldn't have left him for all these months, and she hadn't meant to. Truly, she'd only meant to leave for at least a few days, just to prove her point. She had gone back home to her den to check up on things, and then something had happened. And she had panicked. And she had asked her closest friend for help. But the whole time, she knew.. she knew she should have just gone home. Sesshoumaru would have helped her far better than Kouga could. She regretted her desicion, though she couldn't change it now. And at least this way, she had gained the friendship from Kouga that she'd been looking for. It had been good to spend the time together. She knew it was just what she and Kouga had needed, but she knew she would never do anything like this again. Sesshoumaru needed her more. Far more.

Her heart skipped a beat as his sad golden hues finally rose to meet her gaze. "Ayame... h-how could you do this to me?" He choked out, his silent tears still slipping down his cheeks. It took all her will not to cry as well as he continued. "I loved you, Ayame, with everything I ever had!" Her gaze lowered a moment, and she next felt his cold hands upon her shoulders, hearing the shuffle of snow as Kouga took a protective step forward, stopping himself only because he knew Ayame needed this moment with her husband. Sesshoumaru shook her once firmly, forcing her to look up at him. "Ayame, you are the only woman I've _ever_ let into my life! How could you betray me like thi-" Betray? No, no! She couldn't let him think like this any longer. It was hurting them both, and she would not be accused of betrayal which she had not done.

"Sessh. Look." She interrupted him. She looked between them to the child in her arms , feeling his hesitant shift to look down at the child as well. Gently, she moved the folds of her cape aside, brushing a finger against the tiny, soft cheek as she leaned down to kiss the baby's forehead. "Wake up, darling." She cooed, a small smile gracing her lips. The baby stirred and stretched, and finally opened its eyes. And Sesshoumaru froze, his own eyes wide as he stared into tiny golden hues. Stunned, he looked back up to his smiling wife.

"...Ayame... The... the- it-it's-??"

"Yes." She grinned, answering the question he couldn't ask. "Of course, Sessh. This is your daughter."

His daughter. _His_. His own flesh and blood, this beautiful little child with fine bright red hair. He brushed his fingertips over the short soft strands, catching the shine of silver streaks here and there. Yes... his child. And he loved her already. He looked to Ayame again, who smiled. "Here. Hold her. I think she likes you already." She chuckled, raising the girl into his arms and helping him to hold her securely. The little girl cooed in delight, reaching up to take hold of a silver lock spilling over her father's shoulders. He cringed slightly and pried it from her little iron grip, replacing it with his own finger.

"What's her name?" He asked, watching the child in his arms. Ayame smiled.

"I wanted to wait to name her with you. I didn't want to pick out the name on my own and have you not like it. She _is_ yours as well. But I had narrowed down my ideas to Kaiyouti. I think it's cute, and I think it would suit her."

"Kaiyouti. Yes.. I like it." He nodded in agreement, a small smile curving his lips. He chuckled as a certain thought crossed his mind. He had always picked on Inuyasha for being a half breed... Now he had a half breed daughter of his own. Half wolf, half dog. Kaiyouti.

The small group returned to the estate, Sesshoumaru with his new little love in his arms and Ayame at his side, Kouga following along at Sesshoumaru's other side to show him and everyone else that he had finally become the kind of prince they'd hoped he could be. They arrived to find Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippou, Rin, and all of the Royal Guard and maid staff waiting to greet them. The wait staff had prepared a banquet as soon as Mitsuri had given the news, and a small celebration was had in the dining hall. A celebration to welcome Ayame and Kouga home... and to welcome the newest addition to the family. Rin's new baby sister, Kaiyouti.

The End

(Finally)

**A/N: I apologize again for how long it took me to finish this story. It should not have taken this long. I also apologize that the end is pretty lame. (In my opinion, anyway.) I felt that going into detail about the celebration and all would be like a filler episode, and nobody likes those much, right? (Haha.)**

**Anyway, thanks to everyone who stuck with the story through these long months. I apologize for making you wait so long for updates. I hope you all enjoyed the story! See ya 'round!**

**~Ayame.**


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